The Bygone Lover
by gubernaculum
Summary: The new Torchwood medic tries to move forward but faces a ghost from her past.
1. Chapter 1

It was a rare sunny day in Cardiff. So beautiful was the day and so cool the breeze, that Torchwood's medic, Miranda Ryan, had decided to get some exercise outdoors for a change and had invited Ianto Jones to join her The two friends were having a late morning run in Bute Park. Ianto had cheerfully agreed, happy to get out of the underground recesses of the Hub and get some exercise that didn't involve chasing after aliens. He was now seriously regretting that decision.

From the moment they'd set off across the grass, Miranda had set a blistering pace. He'd managed at first but now, nearly two kilometres into their run, he was trailing behind her.

"Mandy! Slow down!" Ianto shouted at her back. "This is the last time I go for a run with you! I thought this was going to be a nice afternoon jog, not the bloody Olympics!"

"Sorry, sorry!" she said and she slowed down as they looped back to where Ianto had parked. She smiled and teased, "Bit out of shape, Ifan?"

"I run pell mell after aliens, Mandy, not for my own enjoyment," he snapped. "I'm not immortal you know! I'll be feeling this tomorrow."

She laughed as she ran beside him, the pace leisurely for her. "Something that someone sharing a bed with Jack Harkness should be used to saying."

He blushed and gave her a playful shove. They had nearly made it back to the car when his mobile began to ring.

He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. _Jack_… "Hang on, it's Jack."

The pair slowed to a walk as Ianto accepted the call. "Hello? Jack? Do you need us back?… Yes, we're still in Bute Park… Down by the Castle… Right… Got it… Yeah, in my boot… We will… Bye."

"Spike in the area?" she asked as she reached into her pocket for her PDA.

"Yep, by the garden," he said across the grass. "Reckon I should get the kit from the car?"

"Nah… race you!" she said with a laugh and then took off across the grass.

"Cachu!" he swore under his breath and ran after her. She had a head start but he managed to nearly catch her as they reached the garden hedge.

"You cheated!" he said, panting.

"Again, something someone sharing a bed with Jack Harkness should be used to," she said with a laugh, scanning the area with her PDA. "There, in the tall grass."

He moved to investigate but Miranda's hand on his arm stopped him.

"You know the rules, Ifan. Jack and I take the risks," she said, crouching down.

As she parted the grass, she saw what looked like a plastic squeeze bottle. To any passerby it would have looked like nothing more than litter but Miranda knew it was actually a beverage bottle once she saw the brightly coloured alien writing around the label. She beamed as she picked it up. Her and Jack saw these bottles fairly often, once or twice a decade. The last one fell through the rift in 2003._This one is mine, Harkness… _

"What's that?" Ianto said, leaning over.

She twisted the top off the nozzle and peered down. _Oh! It's a pink one! _There was no need to worry about an expiration date, the beverages didn't spoil. Shesqueezed the contents into her mouth, her eyes rolling in the back of her head at the sweet taste.

Ianto didn't seem as pleased and tried to grab the bottle out of her hands. "Christ, Mandy! What the fuck are you doing? That could be dangerous!"

"Relax, Ifan. It's just a soft drink from the twenty-ninth century. They come through quite often, relatively speaking," she said, drinking down more of the alien beverage.

"So you and Jack regularly just drink things that fall through the rift?" Ianto asked, dryly.

"Well, it's not like it's going to kill us," she said, raising her eyebrow. "Jack got to drink the last one that came through so this one is mine. Here, have the rest."

The Welshman eyed it wearily but took the bottle from her. Aside from the vertical ridges and alien writing, it could have been any sort of squeeze bottle. He looked down the nozzle, raising both his eyebrows at the neon pink liquid within. "It's pink…"

"Yes, because everything we eat and drink is such a lovely natural colour in this day and age."

"Is it sparkling or still?" he asked, giving the bottle a little shake, still looking down the nozzle to see if the drink bubbled.

"Goddess below, you modern humans are such a picky lot! Fine! If you don't want the rest-" she said, moving to take her prize back.

"I didn't say that." _Well… here goes nothing…_ He put the nozzle in his mouth and squeezed. The drink was unlike any he'd ever had. The liquid fizzed on his tongue and sweetness burst in his mouth. It was sweeter than any soft drink he had ever had before. He had no idea how, but he knew that it tasted fruity, but it was no fruit flavor he could identify. After he'd swallowed, a lightly sour aftertaste blossomed in his mouth. In an odd twist, the beverage's fizz smelled of cinnamon. He drank down the last of the drink with regret. "Wow!"

"Told you!" she laughed. "Jack is going to be quite cross I didn't save him any."

"Should we have saved some for the others?" he asked, looking at the empty bottle.

"Nope," they both said simultaneously as they shook their heads and laughed.

After ensuring the beverage was the only thing to have dropped through, the two friends started back towards Ianto's car. They emerged from the trees separating the garden from the grassy area, deep in conversation, when a woman shouted out across the park, "Someone! Please! Grab him!"

Miranda looked up and saw a tricolour Corgi, having the time of its life as it raced across the park towards the far tree line, its leash trailing behind it. So lost in the joy of running in the open, the dog was paying no attention to its owner, running and calling after it. Just as they finished digesting the scene, the poor woman stumbled and fell. Oblivious, the dog continued on. The two Torchwood agents shared a look of silent communication and then both of them took off running. Ianto headed in the direction of the fallen woman as Miranda sprinted for the dog.

A number of other bystanders attempted to help as well but the Corgi proved to be more agile than expected, dodging and outrunning anyone who tried to capture him, enjoying the game. Miranda managed to bring her foot down sharply on the leash just before the dog reached the opposite tree line. Panting she bent down and looped the leash around her wrist. The dog, having found a new friend and hoping for a different game, jumped and barked around her, tangling the leash around her legs.

"Thank you!" the woman said as she jogged up with Ianto. Her accent was Welsh. "He would never have stopped."

After she'd succeeded in untangling herself from the leash without falling over, Miranda looked up to hand it over to the other woman. The dog's owner was a little taller than her, pale with dark hair in a pixie cut. Her large eyes could rival Gwen's. Miranda returned the woman's shy smile, feeling an odd blush creep up her face.

"Are you all right?" Miranda asked, taking in the woman's scraped knees. "Ifan? Could you get the first aid kit out of the car?"

"No, I'm fine really!" the other woman said but Ianto had already walked off. He was chuckling. "Really, your husband needn't bother…"

Miranda couldn't help but let out a small snort at the idea. "He's not my husband."

"Boyfriend then…?" the other woman asked, not without a slightly hopeful tone to her voice.

"Yes, he has one," Miranda said apologetically. She hated to disappoint the woman but Ianto Jones was very much taken.

"Actually, I was asking about you," she said simply, the smile on her face widening.

"No, I'm not… I don't… I'm…" she stammered. _Gods I sound like an idiot!_ She'd been taken completely off guard by the direct and blunt statement. She swallowed convulsively, looking at this stranger in a new light. It wasn't every day someone stunned her into a stammer.

"Straight. No worries," the other woman said, with an unabashed smile.

"I've never been one for labels," said Miranda, widening her smile. She held out her hand to the other woman. "Miranda Ryan."

"Nora Ashline, this is Alvin," she said, her smile widening even further as she grasped Miranda's hand.

The two women never took their eyes off each other. They just stood there, grinning at each other, hands clasped between them. They both jumped at the sound of Ianto clearing his throat.

"Here you go, Mandy. I'll just be in the car," he said with a smirk on his face. He handed her the first aid kit, then turned and left before she could stop him.

With a nervous smile, she turned back to Nora. "Sit down, let me clean those cuts."

"Really, it's fine. It's just a couple of scrapes…"

"A couple of scrapes that could get infected," she said, gesturing at a nearby tree.

Nora sat down, keeping careful hold on Alvin's leash. Miranda opened up the first aid kit and opened the single use antiseptic wipes.

"This might sting a bit," she said, dabbing the wet gauze onto the scrapes.

The other woman didn't flinch, still staring at Miranda who was shifting nervously under the scrutiny.

"Listen, you probably already think I'm a nutter or something but this is my mobile," Nora said as she took a pen from her purse and scrawled her phone number on the back of a random receipt.

"I don't think you're a nutter… maybe a careless dog owner-" she broke off once she realised how tactless her joke sounded and wondered how to extract her foot from her mouth. _Shit why did I say that…_

To her relief, Nora laughed and handed the card to her. "Well then, Alvin's lucky you were about."

Miranda felt the blush on her face deepen as she took the paper, slipping it into her pocket. She finished cleaning the scrapes on Nora's knees and hands and packed away the first aid kit. The Corgi put his front paws up on her leg and gave her hand a lick.

"Thank you, really, for Alvin," she said. "He likes you."

Miranda reached over and scratched the dog between his large ears.

"We'd both like to see you again," Nora said boldly as she stood up, brushing the grass from her legs.

"I'd like that too," she said as she blushed again.

"Looking forward to it. I'll see you soon then," Nora said brightly as she started to walk away.

Miranda watched her walk back up towards the footpath that led to North Road with Alvin the Corgi in tow. Before she disappeared down the path, Nora stopped, and turned around. She smiled widely and waved before turning down the path towards the street.

After picking up the first aid kit, Miranda headed to the car park where Ianto was waiting for her. She put the first aid kit back into the Audi's boot and then got into the passenger seat.

"She seemed nice," Ianto said innocently.

"Hmmm," came Miranda's noncommittal noise.

"Quite lovely," he said.

"Hmmm," she repeated.

"She was certainly interested in you," he said still trying to sound innocent.

"You have something you want to ask, Ifan?" Miranda said sharply.

"Just wanted to make sure you didn't cock it up and got her number," he said with a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

Miranda was waiting for her report from this afternoon's artefact retrieval to print with one hand on her hip, the other tapping on the printer's tray impatiently. There had been a small rift spike in the mid-afternoon that her and Torchwood's technician, Joseph Fischer, had gone out to investigate. The two had returned with what amounted to little more than space junk. She stacked the papers neatly, stapling them as she took the autopsy bay stairs two at a time and headed towards Jack's office. The Torchwood leader's signature was required before the report could be filed and the case squared away. Miranda desperately wanted to get out early, which in Torchwood terms meant at the end of what other people considered a normal business day.

Miranda smiled at Gwen and Fish as she moved through the main Hub at a brisk pace. She knocked lightly on the closed office door, awaiting permission to enter. She, and anyone else who worked at Torchwood, knew better than to burst through Jack's closed office door without warning, or any other closed door for that matter. While she normally enjoyed teasing and embarrassing Ianto when she caught him and Jack together, she didn't have time for it today.

Nearly a full minute passed before Jack's voice shouted, "Come in!"

She smirked. When she opened the door, Ianto was smiling at her, looking like the cat that got the cream. His appearance was impeccable as always but she noticed the slight flush to his cheeks as he hurried passed her out the door. _Good thing I knocked…_

"Hey, Will, what's up?" Jack said brightly.

"I have that report from this afternoon's spike for your signature," she said, laying the papers in front of him, "and I was wondering if it would be all right if I took the rest of the evening?"

Jack looked up from her report with concern. "Anything I need to know about?"

She shook her head, and absentmindedly checked her fob watch. "Nope, just have something I need to do."

The immortal woman's impatient gesture and overly innocent tone weren't lost on Jack. He'd known her too long. He gave her a small smile and then proceeded to read her report… very slowly. Over the top of the paper, he could see her index finger tapping at her hip.

"Jack, sometime today, please?" she said, exasperated.

"Just reading what I'm signing. They say you should do that, you know…" he said with a small smirk. "There may be a typo somewhere…"

She stood for nearly five minutes as he read the first page. She was losing this particular battle of wills. "I have a date, Jack."

The broad grin that spread across Jack's face made Miranda groan inwardly.

"A date? Really?" he said eagerly.

"Jack? The report?" she reminded him.

"With who?" he asked, not even glancing at the papers in front of him.

"With whom," she said flatly. Miranda could see there was no way out of the Hub without going through Jack. She huffed out a frustrated sigh and, hoping that it would be enough to satisfy Jack's curiosity, said, "Her name is Nora Ashline and I'd like to pick her up on time." _If you give a mouse a cookie…_

Jack put down the report and picked up his pen, idly fiddling with the end. "How'd you meet her?"

_…he's going to ask for a glass of milk. _"Bute Park. That day Ifan and I went out for a jog. She was walking her dog. She's doing her doctorate in mathematics at Cardiff University," she said. _When you give him the milk…_

"And where are you two going tonight?" he asked, sweetly, flipping the report to the last page, not bothering to read it.

_…he'll probably ask for a straw. _"The Thai House," she said, dryly. She wanted to shoot him… twice. "The report, Jack."

"Oh right," he said, signing the report with a flourish and an evil grin. "You have a good time. I won't wait up."

With an eye roll worthy of Ianto, she snatched the report from him and practically fled his office. She sped across the main Hub and down the east staircase to the first archive room that was Ianto Jones's private office. The young Welshman was bent over several boxes of old files, sorting through them.

She had to give him a great deal of credit. Miranda had been in charge of the archives when she'd worked for Torchwood back in the 50's and the 70's and they were so disastrous that she hadn't even attempted to organise them, merely filing things as best she could. The young Welshman had instituted an index code and cross referencing system that been nothing short of miraculous. Under his careful diligence, the archives were becoming more and more manoeuverable.

She tapped lightly on the open door and said, "I have the report from this afternoon, Ifan. It's ready to be filed."

"You can just leave it there," he said, pointing at his desk chair. "That was fast."

"Yes, well… I'm off for the day. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" she said, cheerfully.

"Tomorrow?" he asked, looking up from his work, confused.

"Yes, tomorrow."

"I thought we were watching _Angels and Demons_ tonight."

Miranda cursed her stupidity. Tonight was their movie night. "Shit, Ifan. I'm sorry. I can't tonight. Can I take a rain check?"

"You finally arranged a date with that woman from the park didn't you?" he said with a smirk.

She felt herself blush. "I'm sorry, Ifan… really-"

"Have a good time, Mandy," he said smiling and turning back to his work. "I won't wait up."


	3. Chapter 3

Miranda parked her car on the residential road in Carthys in front of Nora's flat. She smiled at the other woman sitting in her passenger seat. The date had gone extremely well. Miranda had been painfully nervous. She hadn't been on a date in over a decade but the conversation had flowed easily over the excellent food. The two women had found common ground in their love of art and ethnic cuisine. Miranda felt strangely close to the woman.

"Well, this is me…" said Nora, with a smile.

"May I see you to the door?" Miranda asked shyly. _Gods, I sound like an idiot… _

"Sure."

She hurried around to open the passenger door for Nora, holding out her hand to help the other woman out of the car, offering her arm. Once the pair had reached the front door, she dropped her arm and gave Nora a shy smile.

"I had a really great time," Miranda said.

"So did I," Nora replied, her keys in her hands.

The two gazed into each other's eyes both trying to find courage. Miranda, praying she wasn't misreading the situation and with her heart pounding in her chest, leaned forward. Nora met the kiss halfway, circling her hands up between Miranda's shoulder blades, pulling her in close. The kiss was slow and gentle with a barely restrained urgency. When Miranda felt the tip of Nora's tongue, she parted her lips. Her breath hitched in her throat and she couldn't suppress the tremble in her jaw when Nora's tongue swiped across hers. She felt the slight change in Nora's stance as the other woman's knees weakened. The two parted breathless, their foreheads touching. Miranda brought her fingers up, brushing them through a lock of hair that had escaped the clip holding back Nora's fringe.

"Would you like to come up?" Nora asked so quickly that her words almost ran together, her voice husky.

Her breath hitched at the question and Miranda felt desire pool in her belly. She swallowed on a dry throat. "I'd like that," she said, "but I think I should say goodnight."

The disappointment on Nora's face was clear and she started to pull back from the embrace, thinking she was being rejected, but Miranda tightened her arms, leaned forward and kissed her again. This time she didn't hold back, adding bold heat to the kiss. Nora let out a throaty moan as their lips moved, their tongues pressing and massaging each other. As Miranda broke the kiss, she swiped her tongue along Nora's bottom lip, the other woman leaning heavily against her.

"It's not a rejection… it's a rain check," she said, bending to bury her nose in the crook of Nora's neck, inhaling and planting a small kiss there. She felt Nora shiver.

"Are you sure…" she said, her voice quivering slightly.

"No, I'm not sure and I think I'm completely daft," Miranda said and gave a small laugh. She stepped back, cupping the other woman's face with her hand. "But I am going to say goodnight."

Nora turned her face to kiss the palm of her hand. "Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight," she said, letting her hand fall.

Miranda watched with a nervous smile as Nora unlocked the front door and disappeared up the stairs. She turned her gaze up to the curtained windows of Nora's flat. She took a few steps backwards, not taking her eyes off the windows, nearly colliding with a pedestrian.

"Oh! Excuse me! I'm so sorry…" her voice trailed off as she recognised the face of Kiernan Davies, her Watcher.

"No, my fault," Kiernan said brightly as he reached out to smooth Miranda's coat and she felt his hand slip into her pocket. As quickly as the encounter had happened, it was over.

She looked away from Kiernan's retreating back and up at Nora's windows, the curtains were drawn and the lights were out. With a stab of regret, she got into her car before retrieving the small slip of paper Kiernan had deposited in her pocket with his untidy scrawl on it.

_Tomorrow, 5:30AM - the lift_


	4. Chapter 4

It was nearly half five and Miranda was standing on the invisible lift waiting for Kiernan. She'd told her Watcher about the lift's existence with Jack's permission, the Torchwood leader accepting that secrecy would be an utter fallacy with the Watcher following Miranda where ever she went. Kiernan and Miranda used the lift for the occasional covert meeting. When she looked up from checking her fob watch, she saw the sandy haired man walking across the Plass, his head down and his hands in his pockets. Without looking up, he stepped onto the paving stone, disappearing into the perception filter to stand beside her.

"Morning, Mao-Lin," he said, sounding a bit groggy. "Your date looked like it went well."

"What's up, Kiernan?" she asked, wanting to get right down to business. She did her best to forget there was someone following her everywhere and little reminders like that made her uncomfortable.

"I have news," he said slowly. The two had a careful code. If Kiernan had 'information', then he wanted to tell her something about the Game that she might classify as interference. If Kiernan had 'news', then he had something to tell her that involved the Game but not something she would consider interfering.

She nodded at him. "Go ahead."

"Gina de Valicourt is dead," he said gravely.

Miranda sighed. She was familiar with the name. Gina de Valicourt had been nearly four hundred years old. Few immortal women managed to live passed a century and even in this modern era of gender equality, the Game was a man's world. She had never met the immortal woman, knowing her by reputation only.

"When?"

"Last week. Understandably, Robert's inconsolable."

She had only met Gina's husband, Robert, once. She had no idea why Kiernan was passing on this news. Perhaps Kiernan felt she would want to pay her respects? Surely he didn't get her up onto the Plass at this hour to gossip. "Have any formal arrangements been made?"

Kiernan shook his head. "No, Robert never collected her body from the morgue. We buried her in the di Bergamo family crypts in Milan."

After a beheading, the Watchers swooped in before local police had the chance to recognise the crime scene for what it was. Most immortals had no living family to deal with funerals and so made legal arrangements explaining their wishes. She knew it was the Watchers' policy to carry out the defeated's wishes if there was no living person to do so. Such was not the case for Gina de Valicourt who had a living husband. Robert and Gina had been together over three hundred years. She understood the man would be deeply distraught at the loss of his wife but to have the Watchers bury her? Miranda was shocked.

Kiernan's mobile beeped. He checked the text message and sighed. "Robert de Valicourt was killed a few hours ago, just outside of Paris."

Miranda sighed. _So much death… _"Thanks for letting me know, Kiernan. Go home. Get some sleep."

"I also have information, Mao-Lin."

The pieces started slotting into place within her mind. She had a feeling she knew what 'information' Kiernan had for her. "Is it about who killed Gina and Robert de Valicourt?"

"Yes."

It all made sense to her now. She didn't need Kiernan Davies to tell her who had killed them. Adaf Terfel preferred the heads of women and the list of female immortals wasn't a long one. "It was Adaf Terfel."

"How could you know that? You just found out the de Valicourts were dead!" he said with surprise.

_For a researcher, this boy has much to learn about the Game… _"Simple maths. Thanks for letting me know, Kiernan."

Hearing the dismissal, Kiernan moved to the edge of the paving stone but stopped before he stepped off. "Be careful, Mao-Lin. I know you think Terfel is a joke but you shouldn't underestimate him. Gina was good."

With that, the young man stepped out onto the Plass, leaving Miranda alone on the paving stone. She took out her PDA and activated the lift. As it descended, she sent up a silent prayer for the souls of Gina and Robert. She noted the Hub was no longer in night mode, as it had been when she'd taken the lift up to the Plass.

When the lift reached the main Hub floor, the smell of coffee drifted over to her from the kitchen. Before she got a chance to head over for a cup, Jack's voice boomed through the cavernous space.

"Will? My office!"

"Give me a minute, Jack," she shouted back. She took a moment to think as she went into the autopsy bay. As she shrugged out of her coat, she hated to admit it but Kiernan was right. She had never met Gina de Valicourt but she knew the woman's skill with a sword was nothing to laugh at. If Terfel had managed to best her, he was a more serious threat than she had originally thought but she decided not to seek out the other immortal.

Adaf Terfel was a name from her past that she didn't like to remember. The immortal man was a cruel sadist, a murderer and a rapist. He was a viscious man that had branded himself onto Miranda's memory. Shortly after she'd returned to Torchwood as its medic and to the city of Cardiff, Kiernan had warned her that Terfel was in the UK. Miranda had had no idea back then or even now whether or not Terfel knew she was in Cardiff but either way it wouldn't matter. She only fought to defend herself and would never seek him out on her own regardless of whatever dark history was between them.

She'd managed to shake off the malaise by the time she'd reached Jack's office. He was sitting behind his desk, flipping through some paperwork.

"Have a seat, Will," he said, gesturing at the chair in front of his desk.

"What's up, Jack?" she asked after she'd settled into the chair.

"The annual briefings are coming up. I need you and Ianto in London next week."

"Those briefings are your responsibility, Jack," Miranda reminded him dryly.

"And I'm delegating them."

Miranda was annoyed. She knew that Jack disliked most of the mundane aspects of being Torchwood's leader but this was getting to be a bit much. Not to mention the fact Jack was blind siding her. A week was scarcely enough time for her and Ianto to prepare.

She scowled at him and said acerbically, "You've already delegated most of the administrative duties to either me or Ianto. Honestly, Jack, how much more are you going to 'delegate'?"

"I'm not good with these politicians, Will," he said.

"Nor the local police… nor UNIT… nor Her Majesty's staff…" she snipped. Gwen liaised with local police and Ianto fielded anything from the Palace. Miranda had been here less than two months before Jack had handed UNIT and the Prime Minister's office to her.

"Am I going to have to make this an order?"

She could tell Jack's patience was wearing a little thin. Her real objection wasn't the meetings themselves. Adaf Terfel's victories over Gina and Robert de Valicourt would have emboldened him and the last thing she needed to do was draw attention to herself by heading into a major city. Terfel wasn't the only reason she wanted to avoid London. In such a huge city, the probability of running into any immortal was greatly increased. But that was the Game.

"You know I don't like big cities, Jack," she said.

"Ianto will be with you. It's only for a few days - UNIT, the Prime Minister and tea with Her Majesty," Jack said simply. "And Will? Now it's an order."


	5. Chapter 5

Ianto Jones strummed his fingers on the steering wheel of his Audi. He looked up at the shop front and then looked at his watch again. When Miranda had gone into the bookshop, she'd told him she'd only be ten minutes or so. Twenty minutes had passed and he was beginning to grow concerned. He was parked illegally on the London street and it was a miracle a traffic constable hadn't happened along but a ticket wasn't his worry. They'd arrived in London for the annual UNIT and government briefings two days ago and Miranda had been in a positively foul mood.

Jack had always despised these briefings and, this year, had made the command decision to delegate them. After he'd decided to bring Miranda back to Torchwood three years ago, he'd discussed the matter of the second-in-command position with Ianto and Gwen. Since Jack's time with the Doctor, Gwen had been the presumptive second-in-command but, when Jack suggested it, the former PC was all too eager to shed the administrative duties and trim her role back down to local liason. Miranda had reluctantly accepted the position and Jack had been weaning more and more responsibilities onto her ever since.

They'd been in London for two days now and even though Miranda wasn't her cheerful self, Ianto couldn't help but be grateful Jack wasn't with him this year. Usually he ended up leaving a diplomatic hailstorm in his wake that Ianto ended up having to smooth over in the weeks following their return to Cardiff. Given the fact that Miranda had greeted Ianto and Jack on her doorstep with a loaded gun, Ianto had had his doubts about her diplomacy skills but she was a far more effective and subtle diplomat than Jack. Unfortunately, while she was the picture of manners and poise during the two days of UNIT meetings, once they were over, she became short tempered and snappish, retreating to her room at their hotel suite and emerging only for meals.

Ianto had gotten to know Miranda quite well since she had returned to Torchwood, the two forming a close friendship, and her mood wasn't that of a disgruntled employee. At first, the Welshman had attributed his friend's anger to how ill timed these meetings were for Miranda and Nora's budding relationship but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe he'd seen too many movies but the deserted looking shop and Miranda's odd behaviour had the distinctive air of the clandestine.

Tomorrow the two of them needed to be at Downing Street to meet with the Prime Minister and then it was on to Windsor Castle for tea with Her Majesty. Though the meetings during their first two days were not as disastrous as they could have been, they were still stressful and tense and Ianto wasn't hopeful about tomorrow. He'd been looking forward to an early night with some room service followed by a long soak in the large jetted tub back at their hotel suite. Miranda had thwarted his plans when she'd insisted she needed to stop here, a small rare bookshop in a dodgy section of east London. That had been twenty minutes ago. _Thirty now…_ _That's it… _

He checked his gun before getting out of his car and walking towards the shop. As he opened the shop door, a bell tinkled and he immediately squinted his eyes and wrinkled his nose. The place looked as if it had been closed for years. Musty and dark, nearly everything in the store was covered in a thick layer of dust.

A long faced man emerged from the back of the shop, only slightly shorter than himself with a similar build. His hair was short and dark. He didn't seem the least bit pleased someone had walked into his shop and wanted to be rid of him as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry. We're closed," he said hurriedly, with a slightly Welsh accent that surprised Ianto.

"It's all right, Adam. He's with me," Miranda said, bored. She had been right on the other man's heels and was standing behind him with a sour look on her face.

"Is he now?" the other man said with a leer. He then turned to the immortal woman to say something to her in a language Ianto neither understood nor recognised.

The sour look on her face deepened and she rolled her eyes.

"Ianto Jones. Adam Pierson," she said, introducing the immortal man by his alias. Ianto had no way of knowing he was standing in front of Methos, the oldest living immortal.

Ianto nodded a slight acknowledgement. Methos smirked and spoke again in the unknown language.

Her patience at an end, she hissed, "You're being rude, Adam. As usual."

He clapped his hand to his chest and said dramatically, "You wound me, my darling."

"Stop that. Histrionics don't suit you," she snapped. Without a word of farewell, she started for the door.

Methos snagged her arm as she brushed passed him, whipping her around to kiss her soundly. Miranda settled into the kiss, returning it for the briefest of moments… before recoiling backwards and punching him hard in the jaw. He staggered backwards against the counter, spitting blood.

"This changes nothing between us," she said, a slight quiver to her voice and then turned on her heel and strode for the door.

"You can't stay mad at me forever!" he called after her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

She gave no answer and Ianto followed her out of the shop door. Once out in the open air, he saw her conditioned series of movements - a sharp inhale followed by a slow exhale as she rolled her shoulders. The sequence was something he'd seen her do over and over again in the years he'd known her to calm herself.

Her eyes didn't look quite as murderous as she said, "I'm sorry about that Ifan."

"It's fine, Mandy." He was concerned and understandably curious but he didn't bother asking. He'd known her long enough and gotten to know her well enough that he knew when he wouldn't get a straight answer or, more likely in this case, any answer at all. "We should get back to the hotel. We have to be at Downing Street early."


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Ianto and Miranda were riding the lift down to the lobby making idle conversation about breakfast. He could tell that she'd slept fitfully, if at all. Again, he'd resisted asking, knowing she wouldn't answer.

They had plenty of time this morning before their meeting with the Prime Minister and Miranda had mentioned a cafe she knew of that served an excellent breakfast. The lift arrived at the lobby and the doors opened. The two of them stepped out. Ianto, a few steps in front of her, reached into his pocket for the valet ticket.

"I'm sure the-" she broke off, mid-sentence and stiffened.

Ianto turned to see why she'd stopped speaking. He saw the tense look on her face and her hand in her coat and knew she sensed another immortal close by. Her eyes were scanning around the lobby and she was ignoring him. He often wondered why her immediate reaction was to reach for her sword. The lobby was mostly deserted of guests but the hotel staff were bustling about. Did she honestly expect one of her kind to come swinging at her in public in broad daylight?

He started looking around himself and saw the same man from the shop standing by the lobby doors. Standing next to him was a handsome man of similar height but a much broader build, his long hair tied back. In spite of the possibly dangerous situation, Ianto found himself amused. The two men were in a similar stance, looking around the lobby with one hand each inside their coats.

The sour look he'd seen yesterday returned and she sighed. "One minute, Ifan."

She left him standing by the lifts to cross over to the two other men, her back straight and her mouth thin. The two men headed for her as well. The trio were within earshot and while he could hear them he couldn't understand a word. The conversation was quickly becoming heated. He may not understand the words but human body language was universal. He saw Miranda shake her head sharply, point a finger at the ponytailed man and then another at Methos. She turned on her heel and headed back towards him.

"Let's go, Ifan. We still have plenty of time for breakfast. I'll get the car," she said, taking the ticket from him and exiting the hotel.

Ianto followed her out of the lobby doors, exiting the hotel and walking down the sidewalk towards the valet. No sooner had he turned then he felt the brush of a hand on his arm. He turned around, startled, and saw the ponytailed man standing behind him, his arm outstretched, a friendly smile on his face.

"Duncan MacLeod."

"Ianto Jones," he said, taking the hand of his fellow Celt.

MacLeod jerked his head in Miranda's direction. "She trusts you. Make her realise she's in danger."

"What do you mean?" he asked sharply.

"Not us," the other man said quickly. "Someone's after her, knows she's in Britain."

"Who?" he demanded.

MacLeod shook his head. "She knows already. We've tried to warn her. She doesn't think Terfel's a threat."

"That's because he isn't," Miranda said from behind him, her arms crossed and the sour look on her face again.

"You need to take him seriously. He's a full timer and he's improved," the Highlander said to her. He added sadly, "Robert and Gina are dead."

"And may the Gods unite them in the afterlife," she said. "I take all my challenges seriously… when they present themselves."

"You cannot always wait," Methos said with a touch of concern in his voice, "sometimes it is better to act offensively."

"This from the king of tuck tail and run?" she snapped, turning around to face Methos.

MacLeod stepped up behind Miranda, laying a hand on her shoulder gently and coming to the other man's defence. "We're only trying to help."

"Don't, Mac. Just… Don't." She recoiled from the other man's touch, knocking his hand away with her arm. Miranda's temper was always formidable but the venom in her voice surprised even Ianto. Ianto saw they were starting to draw uneasy looks from the staff.

"Do not press your luck with me, Highlander," she said threateningly. She gave MacLeod a look that made Ianto shudder inwardly.

Hurt filled MacLeod's voice. "We were friends once, you and I."

Miranda stepped into MacLeod's personal space, somehow managing to look threatening even though she was significantly shorter and smaller than the Highlander. She pointed her finger at MacLeod's face and with a voice that rang with accusation said, "That was before I came home and found you in my bed…" the accusatory finger shifted to point at Methos's chest, "with my husband."

The awkwardness descended like a sudden fog. Neither man would look at Miranda. Ianto gave Methos credit for bravery - or perhaps foolishness - when he stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak.

She cut him off, whipping her head around, her tone like a knife. "Silence. Don't even _think_ about opening your mouth lest I remove your tongue."

She closed her eyes. Ianto saw her conditioned sequence of movements again - the sharply inhaled breath, the roll of her shoulders as she slowly exhaled. He saw calm move across her face. She turned towards Methos and softened her tone. Ianto didn't miss the shake in her voice that would have gone unnoticed by anyone who didn't know her.

"I came home and found you in _our_ bed… with our _friend_," she said, uttering the last word like a curse.

She dropped her gaze and started towards the car without so much as a backward glance. "Come on, Ifan. Work to do."


	7. Chapter 7

The meeting at Downing Street with the Prime Minister had been nothing short of disastrous. The encounter with the two immortal men had left Miranda angry and flustered. The ease she'd displayed during the UNIT meetings had been all but absent at their meeting with the Prime Minister though Ianto suspected it had more to do with the PM's attitude than Miranda's. It was his first year in office and it seems no one had informed him about Torchwood's autonomy. Miranda and the Prime Minister had spent most of the meeting acting like stags butting antlers. And Ianto was certain had he gotten out the measuring tape, Miranda would have won. She'd spent most of the meeting educating the Prime Minister on Torchwood and the definition of "at Her Majesty's pleasure". The icy level tone she'd used had even sent shivers through Ianto and he had seen the Prime Minister swallow convulsively more than a few times.

After that disaster, Ianto had feared for their afternoon tea with the Queen. The purpose of that meeting was mostly to reassure Her Majesty that Torchwood was in capable hands. The Prime Minister had no authority over Torchwood but that was not true of Her Majesty. After freshening up at their hotel, the two had headed to Windsor Castle dressed in their best. Adding to Ianto's nerves, the Crown Prince had also attended, something neither Torchwood agent had been made aware of beforehand. Miranda had taken it all in stride. The Queen and the Prince had found Miranda's old fashioned formality charming and the immortal woman had amused the two Royals with tales of Tudor England. Both Ianto and Miranda had succeeded in bolstering their confidence in Jack Harkness as a leader and in Torchwood's smooth running and the two had left Windsor Castle in good spirits. Ianto was now easing his car onto the M4 heading back west towards Cardiff, simultaneously loosening his tie and the car swerved.

"Stop that, Ifan. You're going to crash us," Miranda said, leaning over from the passenger seat to unknot the tie herself. She slid the silk from around his neck and then draped it across the backseat before settling back into her own seat and pulling the pins from her hat.

Ianto chuckled a little. Miranda had dressed the perfect English lady. Her suit was lovely, a sleeveless dress under a long thigh length coat, but he had thought the hat was quite ridiculous from the moment he saw its wide brim.

"It's a great look on you, Mandy," he teased.

"It was tea with the Queen. And this is vintage Chanel, young man," she chided gently, tossing her hat into the backseat.

"Which I'm sure you bought when it first debuted," he teased.

Miranda playfully swatted at her friend's arm as she unbuttoned the suit jacket. She had indeed bought the cashmere Chanel suit in the sixties.

"Thank the Gods all that is done with," she said with a sigh. She rolled her shoulders and then settled further down into the seat, idly fiddling with the bronze at her throat. She was silent for so long Ianto thought she'd fallen asleep but when he looked over at her, she was just staring out of her window, taking in the scenery.

He took his eyes off the road momentarily to study her expression. It was an expression he was familiar with, he'd seen it on Jack more often than he cared to remember. _Brooding over the past._

"You okay, Mandy?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Ifan," she said with a touch of snap. It was a subtle warning but he ignored it.

"Are you worried?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the question.

"About what?" she warned.

"You've known about Terfel for years," he said with a shrug. "You've never done anything about it."

"I only fight to defend myself, Ifan," she said. "He's no different than any other challenger I may face. There dozens of Adaf Terfels out there."

"Kiernan said you two have a history."

"If I were you, I'd not tread down that path," she said icily.

As the driver, he'd chosen the music when he'd gotten behind the wheel, and the metal tones of Blue Gillespie were echoing in the car. Miranda was not a fan of them but leaned over and turned up the volume nonetheless. It was a not so subtle warning. Ianto let the music play for a minute but then tapped the button on the steering wheel to turn the volume back down.

"Who were those two men?" Ianto asked.

"Goddess below, Ifan! I expect such prying claptrap from Gwen, but from you?" she said, her voice rising in anger.

"They're worried about you, Mandy. MacLeod said he was your friend. You said that Pierson bloke was your husband-"

"Do not speak to me of Duncan MacLeod or Adam fucking Pierson," she shouted over him.

Ianto knew that there were other immortals in the world. He'd seen the files Jack had written about Miranda and her kind. Miranda's entire life centered around the Game and her own survival within it. She'd told him when they'd first met that she had associations with others of her kind but Ianto had thought of them exactly as she'd termed them, associations. He had never thought another immortal would be anything more to Miranda than a mere acquaintance. The idea that she would form friendships or a marriage had shocked him. Ianto assumed that she would view every other immortal around her as a potential threat not to be trusted. And it surprised him even more that she was ignoring the warnings of people she trusted. It was not the first time Ianto had known someone to warn Miranda about Adaf Terfel. Kiernan Davies had cornered Ianto one day in an attempt to persuade him to speak to Miranda on his behalf about the threat.

Ianto had been on edge for months afterwards, thinking that this man would descend onto Miranda at any moment. But the months had turned into years and Ianto had relaxed. Kiernan had been warning Miranda of the other man's proximity not of an active pursuit. This second warning may be coming years after the initial one, but this one had teeth. The first time Kiernan had been telling Miranda about a threat she may wish to remove. These two men were telling her about a threat that was circling her and that was an entirely different matter, at least to him. If there was one thing Miranda was never cavalier about, it was her head.

It confused and upset him that she was ignoring them. Yes, what the two of them had done was wrong but if there was one thing Miranda excelled at, it was compartmentalising. Shutting them out of her life was one thing, and Ianto couldn't fault her there, but to dismiss their warnings because of their indiscretion? It made him angry with disbelief.

"They seem to care about you, Mandy! I care about you! This man has been after you for three years!"

"And against all odds, I am still alive," she said sarcastically.

Ianto tried to reign in his temper and said soothingly, "He could come after you at any moment."

"As could any one of the thousands of other immortals across the planet. That's the Game," she said hotly. "I have not survived for four thousand years by being a simpleton."

"I know you only fight to defend yourself but maybe you should listen to Adam and go after him," Ianto pleaded.

"Do not speak of things you don't understand, boy."

Ianto felt his own temper rise again at the insulting diminutive. He couldn't believe how selfish she was being. Last year, her and Jack had been shot by an alien weapon. Two days passed and Jack had revived only to find that Miranda had not. Ianto had had to watch what that had done to Jack. His lover had scarcely left her side. Miranda meant a lot to Jack. She was someone who wasn't as easily lost as the other people in his life. A hundred years from now, when everyone else in Jack's life would be dead, Miranda could be alive. Having someone who understood his immortality was something precious to Jack. He had known Miranda nearly a century. The idea of losing her had practically paralyzed him.

"Jack needs to know that-"

"Unless you want me to deliver your cock and balls to Jack alongside your squealing hide, you will not say a thing to him!" she roared. "I will not discuss Adaf Terfel. I will not discuss Duncan MacLeod nor will I discuss Adam fucking Pierson. So shut your gob, Ifan and drive the fucking car."


	8. Chapter 8

Ianto Jones was draped across Miranda's bed, laying on his side, his head propped up on his hand. Even though he didn't really classify himself as such, in the grand tradition of gay male friends, he'd agreed to help her pick an outfit for her date. He was losing count as to the number of times she'd changed clothes. _And I thought I was a clothes horse…_

He had to admit that he had gotten himself into this situation. The two friends were trying to return to their normal routine after their fight. The drive back from London had been an awkward and messy affair. The two had ended up shouting at each other and after Ianto had suggested that perhaps Jack should be made aware of the possible threat to her life, Miranda had suggested that perhaps she should remove some choice pieces of Ianto's anatomy that Jack was quite fond of.

The two had avoided each other for days and, their stubbornness reaching new heights, hadn't talked for nearly two weeks unless unavoidably work related. Jack had tried to mediate between his lover and his ex-wife but after receiving the same threats to his anatomy from Miranda, had backed off. Not surprising to Jack, it had been Ianto who had swallowed his pride first. The young Welshman had tracked down one of Miranda's favorite desserts, a half-Westernised concoction of chocolate and sticky glutinous rice formed into a small bun. Ianto timidly knocked on Miranda's door one night with the sweets in hand. They hadn't talked about it much, Ianto afraid of opening the wound again. Miranda had merely accepted the sweets and apologised for yelling at him. The next day, she'd presented Ianto with some freshly made Welsh cakes. Things had been tense between the two of them but they were gradually returning to normal.

"So where are you going with Nora tonight?"

The two women had managed to squeeze in a second date before he and Miranda had had to travel to London. They had been back now for just over a month and a half and Nora and Miranda had managed a few more dates and were now trying for a fifth. Interrupted by Torchwood and the rift, it had been cancelled twice.

He hadn't thought it possible that someone could have less of a life than him. Before she'd started dating Nora, Miranda rarely left the Hub and spent nearly every free hour she wasn't working practicing her sword skills or exercising. The only socialising she seemed to do was with the rest of the team and that wasn't something she did often. He had been shocked to learn that Miranda's last date had been with their technician, Joseph Fischer nearly fifteen years ago and he was practically scandalised to learn that Jack was the last person Miranda had taken to her bed over six years ago. As far as Ianto Jones was concerned, his friend needed to get out more or, at the very least, get laid.

"Umm… a concert at the university. I forget what she said they're playing."

"You hate classical music," he observed. Miranda's love of modern popular music was a constant source of amusement for him.

"Nora likes it," she said as she stepped back into her bedroom. She was wearing a knee length sheath dress, deep purple lace draped over black satin. It was a pretty dress but wasn't really date worthy. He was about to open his mouth when something in his face must have betrayed what he was about to say, Miranda's face fell and she walked back into her closet, reaching up to unzip the dress.

"I can't believe you don't like any classical music." It wasn't his cup of tea either but he had a healthy respect for all good music.

He could hear her eyes rolling. "This from the man who blasted Blue Gillespie all the way to London and back? I like some of it. It might sound cliche but I enjoyed Beethoven's ninth. I haven't been able to stomach the modern renditions."

That statement made Ianto sit up. "You heard the originals?"

"I saw a performance of Herr Beethoven's ninth symphony when it premiered in Vienna," she said from inside the closet.

"Did you see him? Beethoven?" Ianto asked in awe. From his history, he knew that Beethoven was at those performances himself. Miranda almost never spoke of such things. She generally remained silent about any person or event of significance she may have known or experienced. It was a sharp contrast to Jack who constantly told stories of how he'd shagged his way across the whole of human history.

"Yes, the Maestro shared the stage with Herr Umlauf during the performances. It was some of the most incredible music I had ever heard. The modern versions have lost something." She stepped out of the walk-in again, this time wearing a pair of tan trousers that sat low on her hips with a gold, woven belt. She had on a beaded top that had a deep scoop neck and no sleeves. "How about this?"

"Very nice. Bit dressy isn't it?" and regretted saying it immediately as Miranda's face fell and she disappeared back into the walk-in. Ianto let out a small groan and rolled onto his back. "Mandy! You look fine!"

"I don't want to just look 'fine', Ifan."

"You look beautiful… sexy even," he said flatly, picking up her pillow and tossing it above him.

"Don't be rude," she called.

When she appeared again, this time wearing a pair of dark grey trousers with a thin black patent leather belt and a bright pink ruffled top with a plunging v-neck, Ianto felt blood rushing away from his head. He swallowed on a slightly dry throat.

"You look great. Stunning. Really gorgeous," he said, slightly breathless.

Miranda raked her eyes down his body and smirked. "Now that's the reaction I was looking for."

Blushing, Ianto dropped the pillow in his hands over his hips as Miranda laughed at him.


	9. Chapter 9

"If you didn't like classical music why didn't you say so?" Nora scolded.

The two women walked hand in hand out of the concert hall into the night air and started down the street towards Miranda's car.

"Because I know how much you like the university concerts and we've already had so much trouble setting this up," Miranda said simply.

"You work too much, Miranda."

"I know. I'm sorry," she said with a smile, cupping Nora's face with her hand.

The two women hadn't been dating very long, barely a month and a half, but Miranda could count herself smitten. Nora was the type of person Miranda easily fell in love with, intelligent, witty and full of surprises. Miranda had known a lot of people in her life and it was rare someone could catch her off guard as often as Nora Ashline.

They both stood there, in each other's arms next to the car. Nora looked into her eyes and smiled, her bottom lip caught in her teeth.

"Would you like to come back to mine?" she asked, hopeful.

Torchwood and the rift continued to interrupt the progress of their relationship. Nora had taken Miranda's busy work life in stride and the two women spent time together when they could. This was only their fifth 'formal' date but the two women often met for coffee or brief lunches. Much to Nora's frustration, Miranda had been trying to take things slowly, until tonight.

"Yours sounds perfect," Miranda said. She leaned forward, kissing Nora soundly, running her fingers up through her dark hair and pressing her into the side of the car. When the kiss broke, Miranda trailed her lips down Nora's neck, pausing to suck gently on her pulse point. She felt that pulse quicken under her lips as one of her hands groped for the car door handle.

Bright headlights caught the attention of both women. Miranda looked up, placing herself between Nora and the vehicle barreling towards them. It was the Torchwood SUV. The tyres hopped up onto the kerb in the typical driving style of Jack Harkness. Miranda could see Ianto in the front passenger seat, looking as if he wanted to crawl under the pavement. With a swirl of coat tails, Jack got out of the SUV and strode towards her. _Jack Harkness, you cock-blocking son of a bitch…_

"Hi! Captain Jack Harkness," he said brightly, holding his hand out to Nora, flashing his thousand watt smile at her.

"Stop it," warned Miranda, swatting Jack's hand away from Nora.

"I was just saying hello," he said and then added, not sounding the least bit apologetic, "I'm sorry about this… Miranda. We've got to go. Work to do."

"I do have something called a mobile, Jack" she said glaring at the SUV angrily.

"No time. You were on the way," he said and in another swirl of coat tails, he walked back over to the SUV.

Nora was shifting nervously next to her, looking out of place and then her eyes fell on the SUV, more specifically the 'Torchwood' stenciled onto the bonnet. "You don't do medical consulting do you?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Nora, I can't-"

"-explain," Nora finished for her. She let out a small chuckle and then shook her head. "It's fine, Miranda. We'll talk about it later. Go on."

"Thanks," Miranda gave her a peck on the cheek and started walking towards the SUV when a thought occurred to her. She dug into her pockets for her keys.

"Nora!" she called, tossing her the keys as she walked backwards towards the SUV. "Take my car back to your flat, I'm sorry about tonight!"

Nora caught the keys and laughed. "Stop being sorry and go."

With a weak smile, Miranda got into the SUV. The instant the door had shut behind her, Jack pulled the SUV into traffic with a squeal.

"Sorry about this, Will," Jack said.

"No you're not, Jack. Why don't you fill me in since you saw fit to let Nora know I'm Torchwood and ruin my date all in one go?"

"There's a large spike in Cathays Cemetery," he said, "and I didn't say anything about Torchwood!"

"It's stenciled onto the bloody bonnet, Jack!" she said with a groan. "Where are Gwen and Fish?"

"Meeting us there," Ianto said, speaking for the first time.

Miranda huffed out a sigh. While she saw the logic of picking her up on the way, she couldn't help but be annoyed at Jack's woefully obtuse behaviour. She would have to come up with something to tell Nora. You couldn't live in Cardiff for any length of time without hearing the name Torchwood and, as Fish had said once, they were the worst kept secret in the city.

The drive to the cemetery was quick. Jack drove through the main entrance and parked in front of the fenced off chapel. In front of the chapel, in the center of the grassy section was, ironically what could only be described as a coffin. Jack and Miranda moved forward to investigate just as Gwen's car parked next to the SUV.

Jack approached the 'coffin' first, scanning it with his wrist strap.

"It's an escape pod," he said, bending down, "from a Banting class four deep space vessel. They're from the thirty fourth century."

"Someone could be alive in there," Miranda said. She bolted forward but Jack held her back.

"Go grab the medical equipment first. This thing is a cryo-unit. Whoever is inside is fine."

Fish, Gwen and Ianto were waiting by the SUV.

"What is it, Miranda?" Gwen asked.

"Jack says it's an escape pod from the thirty fourth century. There could be someone inside, I need the medical equipment. You all hang back here, let me and Jack open it up."

Once she'd heaved the heavy medical case from the back of the SUV, she started towards Jack. "How do we open this thing up?"

"We don't," Jack said tersely.

"What? Why?"

"The call sign on the side, DSV-42028-B. It's an escape pod from the DSV-Linnaeus," Jack explained. "It was a medical ship sent to investigate a plague on a colony world. The ship broke orbit to meet a supply vessel but never made the rendezvous. It was assumed lost."

"It's still intact? The seals? The biofilters?" Miranda asked, terrified. Unleashing a futuristic alien plague onto the planet could mean the end of humanity.

"Tight as a drum. But we can't open it. We can't risk that whoever is inside is infected."

"We'll have to take it back to the Hub and put it down in the morgue, the drawers in the special biohazard section."

"I'll have Gwen call Rhys, have him bring it over to the Hub with one of the vans or smaller lorries."

Jack bent down to pick up the medical kit. The two immortals walked back towards the SUV and Jack called out to Gwen. "Hey, Gwen? Can you give Rhys a call? We need a small lorry or van to get this thing out of here and back to the Hub."

"Miranda said it was an escape pod, Jack? Anyone inside?" asked Fish. The Australian looked tired, he was still getting over a bout of flu.

"Don't know, Fish. We can't open it. There's a biohazard risk."

"Biohazard? Is it safe, Jack?" Gwen asked.

"Perfectly safe, Gwen, no worries," Jack assured.

"I'm all for saving who we can, Jack, but those cryoprocessors won't hold forever. Wouldn't it be more prudent to destroy it?" Fish asked, quirking an eyebrow. Gwen threw him a slightly dirty look. "Don't look at me like that, Gwen. If the pod is set to open should the cryoprocessors fail, we could unleash a plague on humanity. It would be armageddon."

Jack shook his head. "We can't properly destroy it, we don't have the technology. All we'd end up doing is ruining the seals and breeching the hull. It's safer this way. Even if the cryoprocessors fail, the pod'll still stay sealed."

It took less than an hour for Rhys to arrive with a small Harwood's van. The pod was so heavy and bulky, it took all of them to get it loaded.

"Rhys? Have Gwen follow you back to the Hub. Leave the van in the Hub garage and then you guys can all head home. Ianto, Miranda and I can handle getting this thing down to the morgue with the trolly. Fish? Tomorrow I need you to look into setting this thing up to some monitors. I want to make sure it's cryoprocessors are running well at all times so we can maybe save whoever's inside at some point in the future. And come in late, you're still sick. I don't what to see you in the Hub before noon. See everyone tomorrow," Jack said and everyone dispersed.

Ianto, Jack and Miranda waved at Rhys and then Gwen and Fish as their team members drove off.

"Hey Will, it's still early, turn in the report tomorrow. We can drop you at Nora's on the way back." Jack said.

"Thanks, Jack."

As they started to load their unused equipment back into the SUV, Miranda felt the flare of the presence of another immortal in her head, a tight pressure between her temples. She stiffened, grateful she was standing behind the two men.

"You know what, Jack? You both go on. I think I'm going to walk."

"Walk?" Jack asked as he opened the boot.

"Yeah, just a little air…" she said slowly, as she tried to quickly formulate a lie and keep her tone light. "I need to think of what I'm going to say to Nora. You both go on."

She backed away from the SUV enough to look around while Jack and Ianto were busying themselves with loading the medical kit into the boot. It didn't take her long to spot him, a tall, lanky looking man with scraggly blonde hair and beard, Adaf Terfel.

"Don't be silly, Mandy," Ianto said, closing the boot with a dull thud. "We'll drop you back at Nora's. It'll be faster."

Jack also stood up, confused and turned towards her. "Will, why don't-" he broke off as he saw how she was standing and looked around himself, seeing the man by the road. "Oh no…"

"What are you two on about?" Ianto asked, turning as well. He followed the two immortals' gaze. Seeing the lone man watching them, he came to the only conclusion he could. "Oh my God…" he breathed, and then whirled to stare at Miranda, his eyes wide.

She looked from Jack to Ianto and then back to Jack again and said simply, "Take care of each other. I love you both."

"Don't!" he shouted, reaching out for her arm.

"You gave me your word, Jack," she said gently.

His shoulders shaking, Jack let go of her arm, turned and kicked the SUV's tyre. Miranda locked eyes with Ianto for the barest of moments before she turned and set off across the manicured grass, weaving between the headstones without a backward glance.

Terfel didn't move. He was standing on a pathway near the edge of the cemetery. His eyes were like blue ice, boring through her. His mouth twisted in a licentious smile.

"Well, well… my Chink harlot!" he laughed. "I thought I'd made fish food out of you."

Miranda didn't answer, merely observing Terfel.

Her silence seemed to make him uneasy and he started to circle her. "How long were you floating at sea? How many times did you die before you beached?"

Again, Miranda didn't answer him. He was edgy, jittery. It was a weakness.

"I've thought about you, that sweet little cunny of yours," he said taking a step towards her, the lust in his eyes burning. "You know we could come to some… arrangement."

Miranda suppressed a shudder of revulsion and feigned interest. She had expected this, for Terfel to ask for her body in exchange for her head. There was a time early on in her life when she may have made such a deal, but not now and not with this man.

"We have an audience." Terfel sneered.

"They are of no concern," Miranda said, "and little consequence."

"Which means they are both," Terfel said with interest, taking a step towards where Jack and Ianto were standing.

Eager to take Terfel's focus off of her friends, Miranda stepped towards the cemetery fence and she made a deadly error. She was so preoccupied with removing Terfel's focus from Ianto and Jack, she'd walked away too fast, turning her back to her enemy and stepped through the gate first, with Terfel behind her. Seeing the advantage, he seized her by the hair, spinning her around and crashing her face into a tree. He slammed her head into the tree again, stunning her. Miranda fell to the grass with a thud, blood trickling down her cheek from where her scalp had split.

With a cruel laugh, Terfel delivered several sharp kicks to her gut and chest. Miranda felt a few of her ribs snap. She dug into the waistband of her trousers, managing to retrieve one of the tiny finger blades concealed there. When Terfel went for another kick, she grabbed his ankle and drove the blade into his calf. Howling, he staggered backwards and fell, cursing at her. Miranda tried to drag herself to her feet but sharp pains shot through her abdomen and a wave of dizziness and nausea crashed down on her. _Internal bleeding…_

Furious, Terfel stood and limped back over to her, the tiny blade in his hands. With an angry howl, he fisted his hand into her hair again and twisted her neck to face him. He pressed the blade into her left temple and then dragged it down her cheek.

"Not such a pretty little whore now are you!" he screamed at her and then drove the blade into her left eye and Miranda screamed.

Terfel yanked the blade from her face and tossed it aside. His hand still fisted in her hair, Terfel draw his own knife and plunged it into her chest. Miranda screamed again. The blade had punctured her lung and she felt tightening in her chest as it became harder and harder to breath. The world around her blurred and swam.

The sound of ripping cloth brought her back into focus. Terfel was using the dagger to cut away her trousers. Miranda seized the moment while Terfel was distracted. Desperate, she managed to twist in his grip, bringing her leg up and kicking Terfel square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He fell backwards gasping. Miranda scrambled on all fours towards the cemetery gate, managing to cross onto holy ground before Terfel got to his feet. She collapsed, face first onto the grass, gasping for breath, fighting to remain conscious and, most of all, hoping that Terfel would obey the rules of engagement.

He shouted at her and laughed, undaunted that his quarry had crawled to safety. "I am coming back for you, you filthy little whore. Your slanted cunt and your head!"

Miranda heard his footsteps fading into the night. She was dimly aware of the sound of squealing tyres and the SUV's engine. Something heavy and warm was wrapped around her and an exotic scent filled her nose. _Jack… _she tried to say but words wouldn't come. Strong arms lifted her up and she heard a scream of pain, not realising the scream had come from her. The smell of a spicy aftershave drifted down. _Ifan… _The last sound she heard was the SUV's doors slamming shut.


	10. Chapter 10

Miranda gasped and jerked, her whole body aflame. Every inch of her felt raw, like she'd been raked over hot broken glass, her breath coming in gulps. The circumstances of her death fresh in her memory, she started to panic and flail against the arms holding her in spite of the pain.

"Mandy! Stop! It's Ianto! You're safe!"

"Ifan?" she asked as the face in front of hers came into focus, the pain receding. She lifted her head, looking around. She was in her bedroom, on the floor wrapped in a sheet, relief so profound washed over her, she felt tears prickling her eyes. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her clothing stiff from the dried blood. "How long?"

"Two hours, forty nine minutes," he said succinctly.

"Where's Jack?" she said, slightly panicked that maybe Jack had gone after Terfel.

"On the roof."

Holding the sheet around her, she stood up, squashing the wave of dizziness. She took a step towards the bathroom and stumbled as the room swam around her.

"Maybe you should lay down," Ianto said, stepping forward to steady her.

She leaned on him, heavily. "I'm just a little dizzy. Help me into the bathroom."

He put his arm around her, guiding her towards the bathroom and sitting her down on the toilet. He stood up and turned on the shower for her.

"I'll be right back," he said and headed for the kitchen. He grabbed a bin liner from under the sink and went back into the bathroom. Miranda was already in the shower, steam billowing out from the stall's door. He tossed her ruined clothing into the bin liner. He left the bathroom and added the sheet. He tossed it outside of the main door, he would take it all down to the incinerator later. He sent a quick text to Jack letting him know that Miranda was awake and that he would be looking after her.

By the time he got back to the bedroom, Miranda was stepping out of the bathroom. She was wearing her pink silk dressing gown and running a comb through her wet hair. He turned down the bed for her, politely averting his eyes as she slipped out of the dressing gown and into the bed. He leaned down, kissed her forehead and went to leave but she grabbed his hand.

"Stay for a bit?" she asked softly.

He nodded and toed off his shoes, laying down next to her on top of the blankets. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, drawing her close.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm fine, Ifan. I just need rest," she said.

"That wasn't what I meant, Mandy," he said. "That was Adaf Terfel wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was," she said.

"Kiernan said there was bad blood between you two," he said hesitantly, remembering how she'd reacted the last time he'd brought up that subject.

"The Game is about survival - kill or be killed, nothing more."

"But it's more than that this time isn't it?"

"Yes, it's more than that this time," she said softly. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Joseph Cook nearly bankrupted himself to fund a sea voyage to the East. His ship, The Bristol, reached China in 1533. I was working in an herbalist's shop. The local magistrate had a gout attack in the night. The herbalist sent me to deliver his medicines. I was on my way back when I was jumped by half a dozen men and knocked unconscious."

She paused, tightening her arms around him.

"Cook's ship sailed to the South China Sea with a cargo hold full of silk and twenty young women and girls abducted from the city. I woke up bound below deck. Adaf Terfel was the first mate. He was masquerading as an English sailor named Thomas Avery. I only saw him when-" she broke off as her voice cracked.

"Mandy, stop. You don't have to say anymore," he said, tightening his arm around her.

Throughout history, rape was a fact of life for both sexes and Miranda was no stranger to it. She had experienced plenty of cruelty at the hands of men. Thanks to the greater strength and agility provided by her immortal existence, such violation hadn't been a part of her life in a long time. With the ship at sea, there had been no escape from the Bristol's crew. Miranda had had to endure.

She shook her head. She'd only spoken of the voyage once before and now she found it wrong that she'd remained silent for so long. The women who had endured the voyage with her deserved to have their story told. Miranda felt a wave of sadness that she couldn't remember their names. She continued, "The voyage lasted two years. The girls who survived were knifed and tossed overboard. I washed up on the beaches of Dover."

"Jesus, Mandy… what did you do?" Ianto couldn't imagine how it would have been for her, a stranger in a land thousands of miles away from anything she knew.

"I survived," she said simply.

Despite what Terfel had done, when Kiernan had warned her about Terfel three years ago, Miranda had made the decision not to pursue him. For the last two thousand years of her life, she had been a mostly passive player of the Game, only fighting to defend herself. She preferred to avoid challenges where ever possible. It was a strategy that had served her well in the past. Now she wondered if she should have gone after him as Ianto and Methos had suggested. Her encounter with Terfel tonight had been nothing short of disastrous. She'd been sloppy and it was a miracle she was still alive. Terfel could easily have had her head if the man hadn't been so motivated by his cock. _Or obeyed the rules..._

Ianto tightened his arms around her shoulders. "Do you want me to stay tonight?"

"I'm fine," Miranda said with a shake of her head. "Go collect Jack off the rooftop."

Ianto couldn't help but chuckle as he stood up and slipped his feet back into his shoes. "If you need anything, you know where we'll be."

"Thank you, Ifan."

"Any time, Mandy," he said as he walked out of the bedroom.

After Miranda heard the main door swing shut, she closed her eyes knowing that sleep would never come.


	11. Chapter 11

Miranda slammed Jack's office door behind her, drawing stares from Gwen and Fish. She stormed across the main Hub towards the autopsy bay. As usual, Jack was being overprotective. For the past ten minutes, the two of them had shouted at each other across Jack's desk. The Torchwood captain had insisted Miranda was confined to the Hub and that she was to remain on desk duty until further notice. She had given him some choice words for what she thought about his orders and made it clear that she wouldn't be following them. She'd barely made it down into the autopsy bay before Ianto's voice came over her comm unit.

"Mandy? UNIT is on the line for you."

With a groan, Miranda activated the ear piece and spoke. "My quarterly phone call with them isn't for another month."

"I know but the Colonel was insistent," Ianto replied.

_Could my morning get any worse…_ "Fine, patch him through, Ifan."

The next sound she heard was the low beep indicating the call had been transferred to her ear piece. Before she had a chance to speak, a deep Welsh voice boomed in her ear. "Doctor Ryan? This is Colonel Marcus Ashline."

"Good morning, Colonel. I'm afraid I wasn't expecting your call until September. What can I do for you, sir?"

"You can tell me what is going on between you and my daughter," the colonel said dryly.

Miranda's eyebrows shot up and her jaw dropped. She had been in London for the annual UNIT briefing a month and a half ago. Her and Colonel Ashline had been introduced by Colonel Mace. She hadn't connected the name to Nora. "My apologies, Colonel. I didn't connect the names. You're Nora's father."

"I am and I'm quite protective of my daughter, Doctor Ryan. I was less than pleased to hear Torchwood's second is showing such a keen interest in my daughter."

"I was under the impression that the interest was mutual," she said dryly. Miranda didn't like where this conversation seemed to be heading. She took a deep breath to keep her anger in check.

The Colonel ignored her. "I was also less than pleased to discover my daughter is being deceived."

"In what way do you believe I have deceived her?" Miranda said, not without some snap to her voice.

"You and your… abnormality," the Colonel replied coldly.

Miranda squashed a surge of anger at the Colonel's word choice but it wasn't the only reason she was angry. Jack and Miranda had gone through a great deal of trouble to keep Miranda's immortality a secret to anyone outside of the Torchwood team. The only exception was Her Majesty. "And what do you know of such things?"

"I know that when I was just a young private, I saw you and Captain Harkness dancing at the Brigadier's retirement party in '78. The two of you haven't aged a day. Common knowledge for Captain Harkness but a revelation for you."

Miranda considered lying for a moment, insisting the Colonel had confused her with someone else but decided against it. This man was already concerned she was lying to his daughter. Dishonesty would breed more mistrust. "I hope you will exercise discretion with that information, Colonel Ashline."

Again, the Colonel ignored her. "My little girl deserves someone who can give her everything, someone she can grow old with, someone she can raise children with. How is that someone you?"

She took another deep breath. "My relationship with your daughter is no where near the point where such things should be discussed."

"You will continue to lead her on until then?"

_And that is the end of my tether_… "With all due respect, Colonel, I understand your concerns but your daughter is an adult, capable of making her own choices. If she has changed her mind about me, she can tell me herself. I have been as honest with her as I can be at this stage of our relationship," she said tersely. She added with a chill, "And this is the first and last warning you will receive, Colonel. Do not dare to impugn my honour again."

She disconnected the call without another word and got up, collecting her coat, gun and sword.

"I'll be back later, Jack," she shouted across the Hub, disappearing through the cog wheel door without another word to the stunned expressions of Gwen and Fish.

It took Miranda less than fifteen minutes to reach Nora's flat. She rang the bell and waited. It was early on a Saturday. Miranda hoped she wasn't waking her.

"Yes?" Nora asked through the intercom with Alvin barking in the background.

"Nora? It's Miranda. I'm sorry to just come around. Can I come up?"

There was such a long pause, Miranda thought Nora was going to make some excuse. The sound of the buzzer was the only answer Miranda got. She opened the door and climbed the stairs to Nora's flat and knocked.

The awkwardness was palpable when Nora opened the door. Neither woman reached for the other, Miranda only followed Nora into the flat wordlessly and leaned against the kitchen island.

"I just got off the phone with your father. I need to know what you know, Nora," Miranda said calmly. "I have to work with him regularly. You told me he was military. You didn't tell me he was UNIT."

Nora shifted nervously as she went about making the two of them tea and didn't answer her.

"Nora, please."

"I know more than I'm supposed to," Nora said softly. Not turning around, she filled the mugs with water from the kettle.

Miranda had assumed as much. "You know what Torchwood does?"

Nora nodded and then spoke hesitantly. "The aliens and the rift. Tad wasn't supposed to tell me."

"It's all right, Nora. Torchwood is outside the government. No one will hear that you know from me," she said trying to ease Nora's fears. Her father could end up indefinitely imprisoned at a UNIT facility without trial.

The other woman relaxed enough to be annoyed. "I can't believe he called you."

"He loves you. He's trying to protect you."

"He wants me to stop seeing you," Nora said with a touch of defiance.

"I gathered as much from my conversation with him," Miranda said calmly. She didn't want to drive a wedge between father and daughter but this was Nora's choice, not her father's. "What do you want, Nora?"

"I want to see where this goes," she said firmly.

Miranda couldn't help but smile at the pluck. It was one of the things she found so captivating about Nora. When she had met Colonel Ashline, she had thought the man formidable. Nora was her father's daughter.

"So do I."

"Tad said you're lying to me… keeping things from me," she scoffed. "He's one to talk. He's done that all my life."

Miranda felt a stab of guilt. Nora didn't realise that her father was correct, Miranda was keeping things from her. Nora was also willing to give them a chance but she was doing so without all the facts. _Perhaps the Colonel is right…_ "There are things I can't talk about, Nora."

"About Torchwood? My father's in UNIT, Miranda. I understand the concept of classified." Nora set the mug of tea down in front of her.

"Not just about my work, about me."

"We all have a past. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

Miranda shook her head, idly fiddling with the teabag's string. "It's not so simple or easy," she said and then paused. "What do you want, Nora? From any relationship, not just ours?"

"Oh, same as anyone else I suppose," Nora said with a shrug.

"A home? Children? Growing old together?"

"Of course."

Miranda closed her eyes and swallowed, feeling the fist around her heart tighten. She reached for Nora's hands, brushing the knuckles with her lips. _I have to let her go…_ "Those things… they're not possible with me, Nora. I think I should go now."

"Wait! Miranda! You're telling me those things aren't possible but why? Is it because of Torchwood?" Nora said, not letting go of Miranda's hands when she made to turn away.

"I can't tell you, Nora. I'm sorry." Miranda leaned forward, kissing Nora's cheek. "And the reason doesn't matter. Those are things you want from life and those are things you won't have if you stay with me. There's no zero sum here."

Nora drew a shuddering breath. "I'm going to miss you."

Miranda turned away, hiding her own tears. "And I you. I'll see myself out. Take care of yourself, Nora."

Without a backward glance, Miranda walked out of the flat, closing the door behind her. No sooner had she turned from the door than she heard Nora's muffled sobs. Steeling herself, she forced her feet to move forward, down the stairs and out of the front door.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a typical overcast day in Cardiff. Miranda had left the team to their lunch in favor of eating alone in Cathays Park. She was sitting on a bench watching Nora eat her own lunch and read a book under a tree. Miranda was more than a respectable distance away, there was no way Nora would see her. It had barely been a week since their relationship had ended. Miranda still found herself drawn to the woman, often watching her from afar. She'd wondered why she was doing this to herself. Every time she caught a glimpse of Nora, she felt sadness and regret. She hadn't realised how much she'd come to care for Nora until she'd let her go.

There was a sharp pressure between her temples alerting her to the presence of another immortal. Miranda straightened up in her seat. A stab of panic rushed through her that Terfel had found her, or worse, had found Nora. The park was fairly crowded but she reached into her coat, wrapping her hand around her sword. Trying to appear unassuming, she turned on the bench to look around. She relaxed when she saw Methos's closely cropped dark hair and long face. She dropped her hand and returned to gazing at Nora across the park.

"You could teach the Watchers a thing or two about stalking, my darling," he said as he sat down next to her. He was speaking an old dialect of Ancient North Arabian, long dead and forgotten. It was a language the two of them had used privately for over three thousand years.

Without turning around, she said, "Methos."

"Mei-Xiu," he said and she winced at the sound of her name. Methos was one of only a handful of people alive who knew it.

He followed her gaze across the park. "She's quite lovely."

"Yes, she is," Miranda snapped, tearing her eyes away from Nora. "Where is your precious Highlander?"

"Back at the hotel," Methos said, stretching himself out on the bench. "You hurt his feelings last time."

"_I_ hurt _his_ feelings?" Miranda exclaimed.

"Mei…" Methos said soothingly.

Miranda inhaled deeply and then slowly exhaled as she rolled her shoulders. The two immortals fell into silence. She continued to watch Nora as she packed her things and walked out of the park, heading back towards the University. Miranda knew that it was to teach an afternoon class. Once Nora was out of sight, Miranda turned her attention back to Methos.

He was sitting with his legs crossed, one ankle up on his knee. His arms were spread across the back of the bench. He looked deliciously relaxed and at ease but Miranda caught the tension in his neck and the nervous bob of his raised foot. His left wrist was resting on her shoulder, his hand dangling loosely. He turned that hand and gently rubbed the side of her neck with the back of his index finger.

She closed her eyes at the touch. It was familiar gesture that she had always loved and it gave her a small measure of comfort despite her anger and disappointment. _Maybe it's finally time to have this conversation._

"Why?" she asked, not looking at him.

"It just happened, Mei," he said simply. "I've never understood why you've been so angry about it."

"When we're together, we're together. When we're not, we're not. It's how we work. It's how we've worked for two thousand years. In New York, we were together," she broke off as she felt her temper rising. "I'd just left Torchwood when I ran into you at Oxford. We got back together, again. We got married, again. When I was accepted at the surgical residency in New York, you said it would be fine."

Methos dropped his hand. His voice was strained and frustrated when he said, "All these centuries together, back then and now and all the times in between, and you think I fell into bed with someone else because of your job?"

"What was it then?" she snapped.

With another sigh he repeated himself. "It just happened, Mei!"

"Bullshit! You two are still together. You're sharing a bed. You trust him enough to fall asleep beside him. That doesn't 'just happen'." She held her hand up to him when he started to speak. "Yes, Duncan is a man of honour. But you don't just trust anyone, Methos. Not even the bleeding fucking heart of Duncan MacLeod of the fucking Clan MacLeod."

"You mock him. You have no idea the trust he engenders," Methos said softly.

She fell silent, not answering him. The love she heard in his voice was like a knife in her heart.

"You still haven't told me why you've been so angry about it. You've never been one to hold grudges," he said softly, tilting his head at her.

"Because if you wanted MacLeod all you had to do was say so," she said. "I would have been upset and disappointed it was one of us but I would have walked away. The same way I always have when you've asked. The same way you always have when I've asked," she said sadly, "but that wasn't what you did. You took him into our bed."

"I'm sorry. It was… ill timed."

"Ill timed?" she blurted, angrily.

"A poor choice of words," he said in a quick apology, holding up both his hands in surrender.

She remembered the night well. She had called Methos to let him know she was working late, the head of surgery had asked her to assist in a complicated procedure, an opportunity she would have been a fool to pass up. The surgery had ended up being postponed so Miranda had gone home to their apartment on the Upper East Side. She'd dropped her things at the door and gone into the kitchen to find something to eat. A small shout from the bedroom had gotten her attention. Fearing for her husband's safety, she had drawn her blade and rushed down the hallway, kicking open the bedroom door. The two men had been in the bed, naked, so deep in their post orgasmic haze that they hadn't felt Miranda's presence when she'd entered the apartment. Had the surgery not been postponed, she would have been stuck at the hospital for hours and never would have caught them.

Methos leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees and said softly, "You were working all the time Mei. That wasn't why things weren't working. I never saw you to talk to you. It hasn't been working for me for a while."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"We've been on automatic pilot for a thousand years. We run into each other, fall into bed and then we go our separate ways," he said. "Tell me you haven't noticed that things haven't been the same since Iran? It's all a routine for us. We're settled in it. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just… It wasn't what I needed or wanted then. I know I should have said."

After the death of her first husband, the man who had been her teacher, Miranda had fled China, riding south disguised as a man. As the decades wore on, she had continued to travel alone, slowly being driven mad by grief and hate and anger. She'd rode across the Middle East aimlessly wandering from town to town. It was there she had encountered the Horsemen. The minute she'd seen Methos, she loved him. Her heart had stopped and she'd forgotten how to breathe. For four hundred years, she had rode with the Horsemen until she'd become bored with the slaughter and tired of the bickering. She had slipped away from the camp in the dead of night. It had broken her heart to sneak off without him but she knew that Kronos would have killed her rather than let her leave.

The first time they'd seen each other again was around five hundred BC. The reunion had been joyous and, after a simple marriage ceremony and a few centuries together, they'd parted on good terms. But Methos was right. The last time they'd been truly happy had been nearly a thousand years ago when the two of them had found each other again in Iran during the Middle Ages, just after the expansion of Islam. A crushing sadness filled Miranda's heart.

_First Nora and now this…_ "This isn't going to be one of our little breaks, is it?" she said, her voice a bare whisper.

"I think this has been a long time in coming, Mei, and neither of us wanted to admit it to ourselves or each other," Methos said, his voice so sad, as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

They fell into silence again, watching the people of the park go about their day.

Methos dropped his hand from her hair back down to her shoulder and tried to push his luck. "Would it be out of line for me to ask you to forgive Mac? He feels terrible."

Miranda wanted to snap at him, wanted to shoot out some snide remark but it died in her throat when she looked into his hazel eyes. He still looked at her with the same softness and gentle love that he had for thousands of years. He was right, she just hadn't wanted to admit it. The two of them had loved each other too much for too long to admit that it was time for a more extended separation or a permanent one.

"I need time," she said, reaching for his hand.

"That we have in abundance," he said with a smile, twining his fingers with hers.

"Is this why you came all the way to Cardiff? To talk?"

"We were worried about you. Joe gave us the incident report from the cemetery."

"Come to give me the proverbial 'I told you so'?" she said with a sarcastic eye roll.

"I would never consider anything quite so suicidal, my darling," he quipped and then his expression sobered. "You're lucky that swine obeyed the rules. He nearly had you… literally and figuratively."

"I know," she said, suppressing the shudder. "I made a mistake. I turned my back on my enemy."

"Four thousand years, you've never had such a close call," he said with another squeeze of her hand. "You don't make mistakes like that, Mei."

"Terfel made his own mistakes. He confused his dick with his sword," Miranda said with a snort.

Methos let out an angry chuckle. "You will pursue him this time?"

"No, there is no need. He will come to me," she said shaking her head.

"You should be wary," Methos said, lifting his finger in the direction Nora left the park from. "You're quite taken with her."

"A moot point," she said with a shrug.

"Ah, I see, perhaps that is for the best," he said. "Terfel would carve her like a Christmas goose. He would have made a fair horseman."

"You give him far too much credit," Miranda said with a sarcastic snort. "Terfel is a brute, nothing more. He has none of our… imagination."

Miranda looked up towards the sky. It was getting late. "How long will you and Duncan be staying?"

"In Cardiff? Not long. We have some business in London over the next few months and then we'll be returning to Paris," Methos said.

"The barge?" she asked.

Methos nodded.

She tilted her head and kissed the back of his hand, letting to as she stood up and turned to look at first time they had married was two thousand years ago. It had been an ancient ceremony performed for gods that were no longer worshiped and practiced by a people who had crumbled to dust. Miranda reached back into her memory for the ritual words, surprised when they came to her so easily. Switching from the ancient Arabic language they had been using to the Etruscan dialect they'd first been married with, she said, "Husband, I renounce your claim."

He stood up as well and, switching to the same language, said to her, "Wife, I grant you severance."

She stood there for a minute, looking at him. His eyes were sad but she could see the more relaxed set of his neck and shoulders. She reached up and brushed her fingers down his cheek before she turned and walked away down the garden path with a heavy heart, alone.


	13. Chapter 13

It was late evening on Friday and Miranda was walking across the main Hub towards Jack's office. She had a sheaf of notes in her hands for her UNIT phone call, a phone call she was dreading on a few different levels. Jack's door was half open and Miranda walked into the office without knocking. Jack was standing behind his desk, Ianto behind him, easing his greatcoat onto his shoulders. The two men had dinner reservations.

"Out, you two," Miranda said firmly, jerking her thumb towards the door. "I have the quarterly phone call with UNIT."

"Didn't know that was today," Jack said as he shook his arms and pulled on his coat cuffs.

Still irritated that Jack had sent her to London for the annual briefings, Miranda chided, "And you wouldn't have, even if you were the one making the call."

Ianto coughed in a futile attempt to disguise a laugh and Jack shot him an angry glare.

"Want me to bring you anything before we head out, Mandy?" Ianto asked.

"I could murder a coffee, Ifan."

Jack and Ianto both left the room and Miranda seated herself behind the desk. With her comm unit, Miranda could conduct the phone call from pretty much anywhere within the Hub but Jack's office had a door and afforded some quiet. Even though it was late evening and Gwen had left for the day and Fish was quietly tinkering away with some piece of tech, the rest of the Hub had a significant amount of background noise.

With an irritated sigh, she picked up Jack's phone, dialing the appropriate number and transferring the call to her ear piece. As it rang, she sat back in Jack's chair, opening her notes and spreading them out in front of her.

"UNIT operations, code in please," came the drone of the UNIT switchboard operator.

"Doctor Miranda Ryan for Colonel Marcus Ashline. Ryan, Miranda, Torchwood authorisation Alpha, five, seven, three, November, foxtrot, four one one six."

"Thank you, Doctor Ryan. Code accepted. Authorisation verified. Connecting you with Colonel Ashline. Please hold."

Miranda was going to reply but heard the click indicating the switchboard operator had already transferred her call. Ianto knocked politely on the door and then entered silently. Ever the perfect butler, he set the coffee down next to her right hand and was gone, she'd barely known he was there.

"Ashline."

"Colonel, this is Doctor Ryan calling for the quarterly Torchwood briefing."

"Code in please, Doctor Ryan."

"Ryan, Miranda, Torchwood authorisation Alpha, five, seven, three, November, foxtrot, four one one six."

"And that is… verified. How are you today, Doctor Ryan?"

"Fine, Colonel and yourself?"

"Good, good. Let's get on with this shall we?"

"Everything has been fairly standard, Colonel. Weevil sightings have neither increased nor decreased from what we typically see during these months. Blowfish sightings have continued to decrease as they usually do when we head into autumn. We've seen no rift instabilities. We've also seen no signs of rift expansion, all rift alerts have been within the usual boundaries…"

Miranda continued to drone on about the normal workings of Torchwood for the next half hour and moved through her cases, month by month, briefing the Colonel on anything significant.

"…The only item of planetary significance came through at the end of July, an escape pod from the DSV-Linnaeus. According to Captain Harkness, the vessel was a medical ship, lost in deep space. We have secured the pod in the biohazard section of our cryo-morgue. Doctor Fischer has hooked the pod up to various monitoring equipment so that we can ensure proper cryoprocessor functioning."

"Can you open it without a biohazard issue?"

"Unknown at this time. Captain Harkness and I don't feel the risk is worth opening it."

"Would it be more prudent to destroy it?"

"The idea has been raised. Right now, it's sealed. If we try to destroy it, we risk compromising those seals. The Captain and I feel it's best left alone."

"Understood, Doctor Ryan. Is there anything else you have to report?"

"Nothing, Sir. Everything is going smoothly here at Torchwood."

The Colonel was silent for so long, Miranda wondered if the call had disconnected. She was about to speak when his voice came over the line. "You haven't asked me about Nora, Doctor Ryan."

Miranda felt a tightening in her chest. "It's really not my place to ask anymore."

Nora was precisely the reason Miranda had dreaded this phone call. She hadn't wanted to pursue the topic of their break up with Nora's father. It had been a month since Miranda had ended their relationship and thinking of the other woman still brought Miranda sadness. She had finally stopped watching Nora eat her lunch in the park but often found herself thinking of the other woman, missing her quick wit and soft smile.

"I love my daughter, Doctor Ryan."

"Of that there was never a doubt," she said, wondering where this was leading.

The Colonel was silent for a few minutes before he said gently, "I may have been unfair in my assumptions of you."

She raised her eyebrows at the apology. "And I may have been overly harsh in my response. But you're right, Colonel. My immortality prevents me from giving Nora any semblance of a normal life."

"Nora's been quite distraught since you ended your relationship."

"And I'm sorry for that," Miranda said, steeling herself. "Nora is… exceptional. She deserves more than I'm capable of giving her."

"It's your choice, Doctor Ryan, but I believe my daughter can handle the truth. She's quite good with secrets," the Colonel said and then paused. "May I ask you something personal?"

"You can. I don't promise an answer."

"How old are you?"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to ask a lady her age, Colonel?"

The Colonel laughed aloud. "Good night, Doctor Ryan."

"Good night, Colonel," she said and disconnected the call.

Gathering up her notes, Miranda headed across the main Hub giving Fish a weak smile as she passed him. The Torchwood technician was on night duty tonight with her and had looked up briefly from whatever piece of tech he was fiddling with when she walked by. She descended the autopsy bay stairs, plopping down into her own desk chair. Pushing her hair out of the way, she undid the knot that held the leather cord around her neck. She stared at the bronze necklace, watching the metal shine in the light and turned her thoughts to the past.


	14. Chapter 14

Fish sighed as he opened the Hub fridge to get a can of cola for Miranda. Things were finally beginning to settle down after a rather tumultuous month. After the escape pod had fallen through the rift last month, Rhys, Gwen and Fish had stayed behind to wait for Jack, Ianto and Miranda to arrive at the Hub so they could all unload the escape pod together even though Jack had told them all to leave it and go home. Fish had been shocked and dismayed to see Ianto climb out of the back of the SUV with a dead Miranda in his arms, wrapped in Jack's greatcoat. Jack had snapped at them and ordered them all out of the Hub before escaping to the roof of the Millennium Centre.

Rhys and Gwen had reluctantly left but Fish had lingered. Ianto was clearly shaken by whatever he had witnessed and Fish had tried his best to comfort the Welshman. Ianto hadn't revealed any details, telling Fish only that Miranda had faced a challenger and had nearly lost and that that challenger was still alive. He had helped Ianto wrap Miranda's battered and bloodstained body in a sheet before he departed the Hub. He had wanted to stay but Ianto had insisted Fish leave, knowing that Miranda would have been mortified to know anyone had seen her in her broken state.

In the days that followed, Jack had done his best to try and sequester their medic but Miranda had continually disobeyed his orders, going out on field calls and leaving the Hub. There had been many arguments between the two immortals, usually in front of the whole team. After a few days, Jack had simply stopped trying. Miranda winning that particular battle of wills. Fish could certainly see why the two immortals were exes and tried not to think about what their marriage must have been like.

Fish walked across the main Hub with the can of soda in hand. The two Torchwood agents were on night duty together and it had just gone nine. After her quarterly phone call with UNIT had ended, Miranda had retreated to the autopsy bay and hadn't come out since. Jack and Ianto had just returned to the Hub from their dinner date and, after a polite wave of goodnight, had headed to their bunker under Jack's office. Fish truly hoped that the two men had remembered to close the hatch this time. He still blushed a little when he remembered the last night shift when the two men had forgotten and left the hatch wide open. The sounds of their rather energetic evening had echoed across the Hub.

It wasn't lost on the rest of the team that Miranda's relationship with Nora Ashline appeared to have ended. Even though the immortal woman had said nothing, everyone noticed Miranda was now spending all hours at the Hub and burying herself in her work. Fish also noticed that she was also becoming reckless in the field, often throwing herself into danger. If she wasn't immortal, Fish would have wondered if his friend had a death wish.

The chemist found Miranda sitting at her desk, fiddling with the leather and bronze necklace she always wore. It was the first time he had seen it off her neck. She was rolling the leather cord between her fingers, the bronze square spinning back and forth hypnotically.

He put the can of soda down in front of her and pushed himself up so he was sitting on top of her desk. "I've never seen you take that off."

"I haven't, not in a long time," she said. She pinched the leather between her fingers and held out the necklace to Fish, the bronze winking in the light.

Fish took the necklace from her, running his fingers over the warm bronze. It wasn't large, a little smaller and narrower than a playing card. The squared end had two holes that Miranda had looped the leather cord through. The other end was rounded. There was no design, nothing ornate about the pendant at all. It seemed plain for a piece of jewelry and Fish suspected it hadn't always been a necklace.

"What is it?" Fish asked.

"A remembrance," she said cryptically

He didn't question her further, that was as much of an answer as he was going to get. Fish handed the necklace back to Miranda who fastened it around her neck.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said with a smile, one that Fish noticed never reached her eyes.

"You're lying, Evie. You've been sulking around here like suicide on a stick ever since you and Nora broke up. Want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Fish," said Miranda, leaning back in her desk chair. She started to rotate the chair back and forth, releasing some nervous energy.

"When Olivia and I split, I was crushed," Fish said, very interested in his cuticles at the moment. "Everything was booked, the church, the reception hall. My sister had flown in from Perth… and I was over the moon. I thought she was the one. She showed up at my stag night. I was half pissed and she was carrying on about how she loved me but that she wasn't 'in love' with me. It was the most mad 'it's not you it's me' speech I'd ever heard. I thought about you. I could have used a friend. It's not easy, losing someone."

"I didn't lose Nora, I let her go." Miranda rolled her chair backwards and propped her feet up on her desk. "She wants certain things from life that I can never give her. I did the right thing, Fish. I walked away."

"What if what she wanted from life was you?"

"We didn't exactly date long enough for her to know that."

"Well, you didn't give her a chance to figure it out did you? You just walked away," Fish said not without a little bit of anger. Miranda and Jack both tended to condescend to all the mortal members of the team, treating them like wayward children. Fish, who had just turned forty, found it particularly unnerving.

"She wants children. She wants someone to grow old with. I can never give her that," Miranda said defiantly.

"We all start out wanting the happily ever after with the house and the back garden and the kids but life doesn't work out like that sometimes. People change."

"Yeah and it takes centuries," Miranda snapped.

Fish gave his friend a leveled look. "Listen, Evie. You and Jack? The two of you walk about with the weight of the world on your shoulders. You know, I used to think you two thought your immortality was what kept you from having the things that make live worth it but now I'm starting to wonder if maybe you think you don't deserve them. But whatever it is, at least Ianto's helping Jack get over it a little. But you? You need to yank that stick out of your arse."

"You don't understand, Fish-"

"Bullshit," he interrupted hotly. "I'm not a child, Evie. And Nora's not a child either. She's capable of making her own choices."

"I gave her the choice. I told her I couldn't give her the kind of future she wanted."

"But did you make it sound like it was something you _couldn't_ give her? Or did you make it sound like it was something you _wouldn't_ give her?"

"It doesn't matter either way."

"Of course, it matters, Evie! 'Love is not blind. It sees more but because it sees more it is willing to see less.' Did you stop to think that maybe if Nora knew that you couldn't have children, that you couldn't grow old with her that she'd decide to love you anyway? Or did you just hope that she'd see someone who wouldn't give her those things for whatever reason so that you could walk away with a clean conscience?"

Miranda's eyes were hooded and Fish could tell he'd struck the nerve attached to an uncomfortable truth. She didn't speak for a few minutes, digesting what Fish had said.

"I'm not blind, Evie. I see the way you look when you talk about her," said Fish. He shook his head. "You should go after her, before it's too late and you really have lost her. Forty and alone? That's a little sad. Hundreds of years old and alone is a whole new level of pathetic."


	15. Chapter 15

Miranda parked her car around the corner from Nora's flat and sat behind the wheel thinking. She had taken to heart what Fish and Nora's father had said, she'd thought long and hard about what she was about to do. The decision to reveal her immortality to Nora wasn't made lightly but as the days and weeks went on, Miranda had grown sadder over Nora's absence from her life.

Oddly enough it had been Gwen's words that had influenced her the most. The former PC had knocked on her door one night for a forced girl's night in, a bottle of wine in one hand and a sack with a romantic comedy and ice cream in the other. The two women had laughed during the movie while they ate whole pints of ice cream then they had gotten tipsy on the wine as they had talked. After Miranda had tried to explain how revealing her immortality to mortal lovers had never worked well for her in the past, Gwen had simply said, _There's a first time for everything._ So she decided to take a chance and risk it.

Miranda got out of her car and hit the buzzer for Nora's flat. She had tried to call the other woman but it seems that Nora's penchant for losing her mobile phone hadn't changed. The number no longer worked.

"Yes?" came Nora's voice over the barking of Alvin the Corgi.

"Nora? Erm… It's Miranda. I'm sorry to just drop by. I tried calling but your phone isn't working," she stammered. _Gods I sound like an idiot…_

"Give me a minute, I'll be right down," came Nora's startled reply.

Miranda turned away from the doorway and began to pace slowly, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. She wasn't surprised that Nora hadn't invited her up. Hell, she was surprised Nora didn't tell her to sod off. It had been more than a month since the two women had spoken.

"Miranda?" Nora said softly.

When Miranda turned around she felt her heart tighten. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed Nora until that very moment, hearing her name in beautiful Welsh vowels.

"I'm sorry. I tried calling your mobile and the number wasn't working and I didn't want to call your office," she stammered.

"No, it's fine, Miranda. What are you doing here?"

"I just… I was thinking… I couldn't… I didn't…" Miranda stopped stammering and took a deep breath to steady herself. _By the Gods just spit it out! _"I miss you. I was wrong and I wanted to talk-"

"Nora? Who is it? Dinner's getting cold!" shouted a woman from up the stairs.

Miranda turned her head upwards and then looked at Nora as her heart plummeted. _It's better this way_… Miranda told herself but it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"I'm sorry. I never should have… I'm… I'm sorry. I'm going," she stammered as she turned and headed for her car, forcing herself not to look back to catch one last glimpse of Nora.

Before she'd taken more than two steps, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "It's my sister, you daft cow," Nora said with a laugh. "Let me get rid of her and we can talk. Go wait in your car, you're not exactly her favorite person right now."

_Sister?_ "It's all right, Nora. I can come back."

Nora shook her head and started to walk away, not giving Miranda time to argue, she said, "No, we should talk. Give me ten… fifteen minutes."

Miranda dutifully walked back to her car, a little stunned, and got back behind the steering wheel. She had parked around the corner. She used the time to compose herself. With an impatience worthy of Jack and precision worthy of Ianto, Miranda waited the fifteen minutes and then walked back to Nora's door. She rang the buzzer again.

"Miranda?" she asked over the speaker.

"Yeah, it's me," Miranda replied.

Nora buzzed her into the building and Miranda walked up the stairs, knocking on the door. Nora thrust a mug of tea into Miranda's hands right after she'd walked in.

"Have a seat," Nora said, her voice a little harsh. "I guess you're here because of something Tad said?"

Miranda shook her head as she sat down onto the sofa. "I have spoken to your father but it was mostly Torchwood business."

"Mostly?"

"He mentioned that you were upset and that he felt you could handle the truth," Miranda confessed.

"He was right wasn't he? You were lying to me about something?" Nora said, a little affronted.

"There's no easy way for me to do this. There's nothing I can say that will make it clearer than if I just demonstrate and I know this is all going to sound completely mental."

Miranda eased herself off the sofa until she was kneeling on Nora's floor. She shifted the papers and magazines off of the glass coffee table and took the dagger from her boot and a handkerchief from her pocket. Nora looked a little startled at the weapon's appearance but was unafraid.

"Two weeks ago I told you that there were things in life I couldn't give you… children… growing old together? It's because I can't have children. I don't grow old, Nora. I don't age."

Miranda sliced into her forearm with the dagger, opening a deep cut. Wincing, she wiped the blood away with the handkerchief so Nora could see the cut clearly. Nora slid off the sofa as well, seizing Miranda's arm by the wrist as the cut sealed itself, vanishing as if it had never been.

"Duw!"

"I'm immortal," she said simply, wiping the rest of the blood away from her arm and the coffee table with the handkerchief.

"Tad called you 'an unnatural woman'. I thought he was gay bashing. This is what he meant?" Nora was still staring at her arm. "How did he find out?"

Taking her arm from Nora's grasp, Miranda stood up and walked into the kitchen, returning with some glass cleaner and some paper towels. As she cleaned the coffee table, she said, "In 1978, the Torchwood team was invited to the retirement party of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Your father saw me there. Back in June, when I went to London, it was for Torchwood's annual UNIT briefing. Your father was there too, he recognised me."

"I wasn't even born in 1978! How old are you?" Nora asked, shocked.

"Too old," Miranda said sadly, giving her usual evasive answer. She stood up and put the glass cleaner away.

"How did you get like this?" asked Nora as she turned towards Miranda. "Was it something to do with Torchwood? An accident or an experiment?"

Miranda tilted her head slightly. Nora was taking this far better than she expected. "My kind are born mortal but with the potential to become immortal."

"The potential?" Nora asked, confused.

"Our immortality is awakened by the shock of a violent or unnatural death."

Nora swallowed and asked, "You mean you had to die? How?"

"You don't want to know that, Nora," Miranda answered evasively. Life had been much different when she had been born. While death was almost never a pleasant affair, Miranda's first death had been a gruesome and painful ordeal.

"I asked didn't I?" Nora said, drawing herself up defiantly.

Miranda sighed and looked away from Nora's gaze. "I was a slave in a warlord's harem. I displeased him. He beat me to death."

Nora flinched a little at the brutality of the answer but her curiosity won out over her pity. "You said 'my kind'? There are more of you?" she asked.

"There aren't many of us… less than one thousandth of a percent of the population," Miranda shrugged.

"Is there a check box on the census for immortal?" Nora laughed nervously.

Joyce Greenfield had been Miranda's Watcher in the 70's. Miranda had noticed the woman following her. Joyce had provided Miranda with a a great deal of information, nothing that could give Miranda an edge in the Game but enough to prove the organisation's existence to Miranda. The Watchers had been following immortals for centuries. Their data was impressive.

"Not exactly…" Miranda crossed the flat to Nora's window, shifting aside the curtain. "Come here for a minute."

Nora moved to stand beside Miranda. "What am I looking at?"

"Do you see that man? Across the street? Sandy hair and freckles in the leather coat? His name is Kiernan Davies, he's my Watcher. Or as I like to call him, 'My Welsh Stalker'," Miranda said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Your what?"

"My Watcher, a secret society of mortals who, well, watch my kind."

"He's watching my flat?" Nora gasped.

"No, he's watching me. He follows me everywhere I go as best as he's able," Miranda said and then smiled. "It would probably be more accurate to say that I let him follow me wherever I go."

"What for?" Nora asked.

"I'm getting there. I told you that I'm immortal but that's not entirely accurate. There is one way to kill me."

"Please don't say a silver bullet or a stake to the heart…" Nora said with more nervous laughter.

"No," Miranda said shake of her head. "Decapitation."

Nora winced, her hand unconsciously rubbing the side of her neck. "So you can die."

"Yes, but not from sickness or old age," Miranda said with a nod. She could tell that Nora was reaching her limit. It was a great deal of strange information to absorb and, so far, Nora was handling it better than anyone she had ever told. Miranda found herself daring to hope that maybe Gwen was right but the worst portion of the explanation was coming up.

Miranda dropped her voice and said, "The Watchers observe what we call The Game. My kind? We challenge each other and fight to the death."

Nora's eyes were steadily widening as she listened and now her jaw was starting to drop.

Miranda repeated the words she had heard four thousand years ago from her own teacher, "When there are but a few of us left, we will be undeniably drawn to a far off land for The Gathering where we will compete for the prize. In the end, there can be only one."

"You're telling me you go around slicing people's heads off?" Nora shouted, finally seeming to reach all she could take. She backed away from Miranda, fearful.

Trying to keep her voice as calm and soothing as possible, Miranda said, "I only fight to defend myself from the others."

"But you've killed? You've murdered! How many?"

"I don't keep score, Nora," Miranda said gently, "but, yes, I've spilled blood."

"All for this prize? What is it?"

"No one knows."

Nora gasped, her eyes wide and her expression shocked. "That's mad! Going around killing each other over a prize and you don't even know what it is? As if any prize would be worth it! It's like some sort of sick tournament without any rules!"

"There are rules, Nora," Miranda said, holding up two fingers. "Only one immortal may challenge another. Once a challenge has begun, no other can interfere. There is no fighting on holy ground, churches, cemeteries and the like."

"And these Watchers they enforce these rules?" asked Nora, incredulously.

"No, they merely observe the Game. We police our own," Miranda said, still trying to keep her voice calm and level so that she didn't push Nora too much. She could hear the hysteria on the edge of the other woman's voice.

"They follow you around to see it all happen? Why? Some sort of sick thrill?"

"The Watchers believe the outcome of the Game will change the course of humanity. They believe there is some greater truth or purpose to the Game. They follow our lives, record who we fight, who wins and who dies, for the sake of history."

"But you can stop! You don't have to kill anyone!"

"Nora, it's not that simple. The others? They'd still pursue me," she said, again gently trying to keep Nora calm. The Game was always the hardest thing to explain, the hardest for people of this modern age to accept. "If I'm challenged and I lose, I don't just die. Everything I am, my strength, my life force, will flow into the victor, making him or her stronger. We call it the quickening. It's the driving force in the Game. It's what compels us to kill each other. The more heads you take, the stronger you become. The stronger you become, the longer you survive."

"How could you? Kill another human being?" Nora asked, her voice a bare whisper.

"How does a police constable shoot a criminal? How does a soldier fight in battle? Because it's me or them, Nora. And after all these years? I still want to live."

Nora sat back down on the sofa, a look of stunned disbelief on her face. Miranda didn't push or speak. She let Nora sit there in silence, long minutes passing as Nora processed all this strange information. It was nearly ten minutes before Nora said anything. Miranda was relieved to see that Nora had calmed and that the panicked look on her face had settled into something more herself.

"You weren't going to tell me any of this were you?" Nora asked.

"I wasn't planning on it just yet. I had thought, maybe, at some point in the future," Miranda said with a shrug.

"Then why are you telling me now?"

Miranda hung her head. She crossed from the window and knelt down in front of Nora, reaching out to hold Nora's hands in hers. "I'm selfish, Nora. I want to keep seeing you."

"Selfish? How is that selfish?"

"By all rights, I should walk away. I should leave you free to have all the things I can't give you… a home… children… growing old with someone…"

Nora stood up. "Why can't we have those things?"

"I can't have children, Nora. I don't age. People tend to notice someone who's been living in the flat around the corner for forty years but doesn't look a day over thirty," Miranda said, still kneeling on the floor.

"And someday you'll watch me grow old and die," Nora's voice a bare whisper.

Miranda swallowed. "Yes."

"You've watched others, people you've loved, die? Lost them?" she whispered.

"Yes," Miranda said, not able to look at Nora as she spoke.

"How many?"

"Too many," she said, giving another of her evasive answers.

"Am I ever going to get a straight answer out of you?" Nora snapped, exasperated.

"Some of the questions you're asking have complicated answers," Miranda said, honestly, lifting herself onto the sofa.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know the answer," Nora said. She squared her shoulders and drew herself up. "How old are you? How many lovers have you outlived? I don't want to be with someone who lies to me."

Miranda swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She closed her eyes as memories flooded her. There were names without faces and faces without names. Other aspects and bits of people percolated up in her memory. Isabetta's face spattered with blood as she coughed. Her first husband's head laying metres from his body. An American soldier during the second world war who's name she'd never known who'd taken her with her back against a brick wall down an alley. Someone who loved figs. Someone who's eyes crinkled just so when he smiled… or was it she? The sound of a laugh she couldn't place to a name or a face.

"I was born in the middle of the Bronze Age. It was about four thousand years ago," Miranda said softly. She closed her eyes and felt tears prickling behind the lids. "I've been married five times, two wives, three husbands."

Miranda didn't realise it but she was twisting the ring on her right hand. She opened her eyes again when she felt Nora reached out and touched the ring she was nervously fiddling with.

"When was this?" Nora asked gently.

"1920," Miranda said quietly.

"What happened to her?"

"Him…" Miranda shook her head and told Nora what was true in 1926. "He deserved a wife who could give him children, who could grow old with him. That wasn't me."

"You left him?" Nora asked softly.

"Sometimes it's better that way," Miranda said just as softly.

"You mean it's simpler," Nora countered, raising her chin. She drew a shaky breath before she continued, "You never told him, did you? Will you leave me too someday?"

It was the moment of truth. Miranda knew exactly how she felt about Nora. It was why she was laying her secrets bare before her. "I won't leave until you ask me to."

Nora crushed her lips into Miranda's, her arms encircling her neck. Momentarily stunned, she took a few seconds to respond, plunging one hand into Nora's hair as the other slid up between Nora's shoulder blades, pressing the other woman into her. Nora's lips parted and her tongue slid into Miranda's mouth. Miranda let out a deep throaty moan as Nora's tongue slid along the roof of her mouth. Nora pushed Miranda backwards into the sofa, pressing herself into the other woman. It wasn't long before Nora broke the kiss and leaned back enough to look into Miranda's eyes, breathless.

"I'm not asking," Nora said as she tugged Miranda down the hallway towards her bedroom.


	16. Chapter 16

Nora woke the next morning with a warm body next to her in bed that wasn't Miranda. It was Alvin. She stretched and rolled, peering over Alvin's furry back to see if Miranda was on the other side. She was alone in the room. The bedroom door was open and Nora could hear someone puttering in the kitchen. Smiling, she got up and put on her dressing gown then padded barefoot towards the kitchen. Miranda was dressed in her clothes from the day before and was stirring the porridge on the stove. There was a mug of tea steeping on the counter.

She crossed the kitchen and put her arms around Miranda's waist from behind.

"Bore da," she said, kissing Miranda's neck.

"Bore da," Miranda said, turning to kiss Nora properly. "I hope you don't mind. I started breakfast and made you some tea. I also walked Alvin but I haven't fed him. I didn't know where his food was."

"Why would I mind? Amazing sex, breakfast and you took care of my dog? Every girl's dream, that is!" Nora said with a smile. "His food is under here. He only gets one scoop. The vet says he's too fat."

She opened one of the cupboards and Alvin immediately came bolting into the room, obediently sitting down next to his food bowl. Nora measured out a single scoop of the food and dropped it into the bowl and Alvin started to eat.

Nora crossed over to Miranda, wrapping her arm around the other woman's waist again. A sharp bark from Alvin caused both women to turn. The dog looked at his bowl and then back up at them.

"That's all you're getting so there's no use complaining," Nora said to him sternly and then turned back to bury her face in the back of Miranda's neck. "I had a wonderful time last night, Miranda."

"So did I," Miranda said with a smile, squeezing Nora's hand.

Nora got a spoon to stir her tea and stood there sipping it as Miranda stirred their breakfast at the stove.

"You know I always wondered why your Welsh was so perfect, now I guess I know. How long have you been in Wales?"

"A bit," Miranda said.

Nora raised an eyebrow and pointed her spoon at Miranda. There was none of the furstration in her voice from last night but her voice was still firm. "Straight answer, Miranda."

"Sorry, ambiguity is a bit of a reflex by now," she said with a shake of her head. "This time I've been here since the turn of the millennium."

"This time?" Nora asked.

Miranda nodded, stirring the porridge again.

"I'm prying aren't I?" Nora asked.

"It's not that you're prying, Nora. I've lived a long time. You ask me how long I've lived in Wales but answering that question can take all day," Miranda said with a smile, ladling out porridge into some bowls. She handed one to Nora, who took it over to the small dining table and sat down. Miranda took the seat opposite and stirred some cream and sugar into the porridge.

"Can I ask you something else?"

Miranda nodded, her mouth full of porridge.

"Why the Irish accent?" Nora asked, curious. "Obviously, you're not Irish."

"A random choice," she said, shrugging again. It was a half truth. When Miranda had been using the name Wilhelmina Cho, she was a seamstress in Ireland. She had visited Cardiff for a brief holiday when she'd met and married Jack. It was the accent that Jack was familiar with so whenever she returned to Torchwood, Miranda donned the Irish accent like a piece of clothing. In truth, Miranda was capable of imitating a wide range of English language accents. With a smile, Miranda switched her voice to a Welsh accent, "But if you prefer the Welsh…"

Nora's eyes widened and she laughed. "Oh, that is creepy! Don't do that again."

Miranda smiled and said, "Hey this accent took me years to perfect! It was the hardest one!"

"Creepy! Stop it!" Nora said, laughing.

"Any other questions?" Miranda asked, her eyes sparkling with laughter. "Perhaps you'd like to compile a list?"

"A list is probably a bit much." Nora laughed and shook her head. "When did you learn English?"

Miranda winced a little. That line of questions was going to lead to straight to Adaf Terfel. "1536."

Nora's eyes widened. "The Tudor era?"

Miranda nodded.

"Why were you in England then?" Nora asked, curious.

Miranda shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She didn't want to tell Nora the truth.

"Another complicated answer?" Nora asked with a smile.

"More an extremely unpleasant one," Miranda said. "I was brought here against my will. Please ask no more of it, Nora."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Nora said, laying her hand on Miranda's.

"It's fine," Miranda said as she squeezed Nora's hand.

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

Miranda nodded as she scraped the last of the porridge from her bowl.

"You said you were married to a man in 1920. When was the time before that?"

"1579," Miranda whispered, her eyes immediately started to shine with tears. "Her name was Isabetta."

Nora immediately regretted asking the question. She stood up and put her arms around Miranda. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Miranda pulled back from Nora's embrace with a shake of her head. "It's fine, Nora. I still miss her very much. We had very little time together."

"What happened to her?"

"Tuberculosis," Miranda said.

"How did you have a relationship with a woman in the sixteenth century?" Nora asked, collecting the dirty dishes.

"Very carefully," Miranda said as she put the cream and the sugar away. "Homosexuality was illegal. We could have been imprisoned or even executed. There were few Asiatic people in Europe at the time. I passed myself off as her servant."

No sooner had Nora loaded the dishes into the dishwasher than Miranda's mobile rang. She uttered an ancient curse and answered the call. "Ryan… That would be because I'm not at the Hub… None of your goddamned business, Harkness!… Thirty minutes, at least… Fine… I'll see you in a bit… No, Jack… I said no, Jack…"

It was with a shake of her head that Miranda disconnected the call.

"Was that that man in the coat from the night we went to the concert? Is he your boss?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, Nora, I have to go."

"You're not in trouble are you?" Nora asked, looking at the clock. "You're not late?"

"No, Jack is just being… Jack," Miranda said, walking to retrieve her boots from by the door.

"Those are your things from yesterday. Why don't you borrow some of my clothes?"

"I'll change clothes before I start work," she said, sitting down onto the sofa.

"Is your flat far?" Nora asked.

"I don't have a flat," Miranda said as she laced up her boot.

"You don't have a flat? Where do you live?"

"I live in the Torchwood base."

"Well I guess we're never staying over at yours," Nora said with a laugh.

"Probably not," Miranda said also laughing.

"Why do you live on the base?"

"When I started working for Torchwood, it was only supposed to be temporary. At the time, it made the most sense," Miranda replied, lacing her other boot.

Once the boot was laced, Miranda stood up and walked over to Nora where she was standing in the kitchen. She pressed her body into hers, kissing her deeply.

"Don't do that or you'll never get to work," Nora said when they'd broken apart.

"I hope I can see you again soon," Miranda said into Nora's ear, gently nibbling the lobe. "I'm sorry, I have to go Nora."

Miranda pulled away and turned to reluctantly head for the door.

"Stop being sorry, Cariad," Nora said with a slight eye roll.

Miranda heard the endearment and stopped in her tracks. Nora looked embarrassed and uncharacteristically tried to backpedal. "Sorry, slip of the tongue…"

"Don't. Don't take it back," Miranda said, cupping Nora's face. "If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have told you everything."

Nora looked straight into Miranda's eyes and said softly, "Rwy'n dy garu di."

"I love you too, Nora."

Miranda desperately wanted to sweep Nora up off her feet, whisk her back into bed so she could show her but Torchwood was calling her. _Bloody Torchwood… _


	17. Chapter 17

Miranda walked through the restaurant doors, flushed and slightly out of breath. She was late.

"Can I help you?" the hostess said.

"I'm meeting someone," Miranda said as she craned her neck, looking around.

Nora waved at her from a table over in the corner and Miranda weaved through the crowded restaurant to join her. She bent down and kissed Nora quickly.

"I'm sorry, we had another incident," Miranda said as she took off her coat, arranging it carefully over the back of her seat so no one would notice the sword concealed within its folds. She sat opposite Nora and took a sip of the soda Nora had already ordered for her with a smile.

"It's fine, Cariad," Nora said with a smile. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"A small spike down in Splott," Miranda said with a sigh as she glanced over the menu.

"Splott? Why is it always Splott," Nora said chuckling.

"Jack and Ifan went to investigate. It was some sort of small creature. It escaped and we've been trying to track it down."

It had been precisely one month, to the day, since the two women had resumed their relationship and Miranda had been over the moon. Even though she tried to keep Torchwood's interruptions to a minimum, sometimes it was unavoidable but Nora had always been understanding about her work. Not only was Nora understanding, but she also knew about aliens and the rift so she was also someone Miranda could talk to about Torchwood on a limited basis. Nora was also adjusting well to Miranda's immortality.

"Dangerous?" Nora asked.

"We don't think so. Jack thinks he recognised the species before it scurried off. It's a small predator from some moon somewhere. He said it looks like a mole the size of a cat. He called it a niffler."

"Like from Harry Potter?" Nora laughed.

"I don't think it finds treasure, love, but he swears it's not a danger to humans," Miranda said, with a one shouldered shrug. "I would have paid good money to watch Ifan and Jack chasing after it though."

The two women's laughter just died down as the waiter came over to take their orders and the two of them settled into comfortable small talk while they waited for their food to arrive. The restaurant was a small bistro, one of Jack and Ianto's favorites. Jack had recommended it to the two women. After Nora updated Miranda on the goings on with her own work and schooling, she fell oddly silent and started nervously fiddling with her napkin, folding and refolding it. Miranda was about to ask if something was wrong but was interrupted by the arrival of the food. The two women ate in relative silence.

When the waiter cleared away the plates, Miranda watched as Nora began to once again, fold and refold her napkin.

"Something wrong, love?" Miranda asked as she sipped her drink.

"Tad called yesterday, he wanted to know if I was coming to Sunday dinner this week," Nora said.

Miranda flinched slightly. Sunday was Miranda's day off and, much to the annoyance of Nora's family, Nora had been canceling her Sunday dinners in London to spend time with Miranda. In fact, Nora had done so this week. Today was Sunday. The time frame of their question wasn't lost on Miranda. They were asking a full week in advance. "Go, Nora, your family is important."

"I'd rather spend the time with you than being grilled by my family," Nora said.

"I'll be here when you get back and there is always next Sunday. You should spend time with them. You've cancelled for the past month."

Nora shifted nervously in her seat. "Tad asked if you'd like to come."

"I didn't think your parents approved. I don't want to cause trouble, Nora," Miranda said, surprised by the invitation. She knew for a fact that Nora's parents didn't approve of their relationship. Nora's father had his own reasons but Nora had said that both of her parents disapproved of her sexuality as it conflicted with their conservative religious beliefs.

"Tad asked. I told him I'd talk to you about it. You don't have to, Miranda. I know that you can get called away at any moment."

But Miranda heard the hopefulness in her lover's voice. Nora's family was important to her and by extension, this was important to her.

"We'll be there, Nora," Miranda said.

Nora smiled and reached across the table for Miranda's hand. "Thank you."

"I know it means a lot to you," she said, squeezing Nora's hand.

"You must have made quite an impression on Tad," Nora said with a wide smile.

"I have no idea what I did, I assure you, love," Miranda said.

She had no idea what she could have done to impress Colonel Ashline. Her associations with Nora's father were purely professional in nature and she had gotten the distinct impression that the Colonel merely tolerated her. The invitation made Miranda curious. Nora's past partners hadn't been invited to the Ashline family home and had only gone for Sunday dinner or holidays when Nora had insisted.

"Some dessert, ladies?" the waiter politely asked.

"Nora? Anything?" Miranda asked.

"Creme brûlée please, two spoons?" Nora said winking at Miranda who smiled at her lover.

"Coffee or tea?"

"Tea please, milk and sugar," Nora said.

"Regular coffee, cream and sugar for me," Miranda said with a smile.

When the waiter had gone, Nora turned back to face Miranda and said, "That's a first, you never order coffee when we're out."

"Ifan says the coffee here is good and Ianto Jones is a man who knows coffee," Miranda said with a slight chuckle.

"I'd like to meet him and the rest of your mates from work," Nora said cheerfully.

"I can arrange that," Miranda said as she squeezed Nora's hand.

The waiter returned with the perfectly browned dessert, a dollop of cream and a handful of berries decorating the top. While Nora busied herself with fixing her tea, Miranda bent down to her purse to retrieve the slim rectangular box and slid it next to the dessert while Nora's head was down. Nora's hand reached across the table for one of the spoons on the plate and froze when she saw the box.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's for you," Miranda said, shyly.

"My birthday is next month, Miranda," Nora said, pushing the box back in Miranda's direction.

"I know, it's not a birthday gift, love," Miranda said.

"Is there something you need to apologise for, Cariad?" Nora said with a sly smile.

Miranda laughed. "No, I just wanted to buy something for the woman I love."

"I love you too," Nora said as she lifted the box and tugged at the ribbon and used her finger to slit the paper open. She flipped the velvet box open and her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.

"If you don't like it…" she said, trailing off, nervously. She had had no idea what Nora's tastes in jewelry were so, one night as the other woman slept, Miranda had snooped through Nora's jewelry box. She'd tried to purchase something similar to what the woman already owned. She'd chosen opal because it was Nora's birthstone.

"No… I love it…" Nora whispered as she fingered the opal and diamond bracelet. "It's too much, Miranda. I can't accept this."

Miranda took the box from her and gently removed the bracelet from the fastenings holding it in place. She lifted Nora's hand and brushed her lips across the knuckles as she fiddled with the clasp, securing the bracelet around Nora's wrist.

"It's a small token and it suits you," Miranda said.

"A small token? Miranda, this must have cost you a fortune!" Nora exclaimed.

Nora tilted her head to admire the bracelet's sparkle. It was a vine, formed in yellow gold. Next to each leaf was an opal and next to each opal was a small diamond. She had ordered it from a reputable jeweler in London. The bracelet was one of a kind and had indeed been expensive but she didn't care. Miranda had lived a long time and had more than enough money. Her Torchwood salary was minimum wage for the UK.

"Two things I have in abundance, love, are time and money," Miranda said with a smile.

"Thank you," Nora said, not taking her eyes off the stunning gift.

"You're welcome," Miranda said. "Thank you, for giving me a second chance."

Miranda smiled, her heart warmed at Nora's joy. She reached out and picked up her spoon and fed Nora the first bite of the dessert that had sat, neglected, between them. The two women alternated between eating and feeding each other the sweet confection, smiling at each other, tuning out the rest of the crowded restaurant.


	18. Chapter 18

"I swear, Jack, if this niffler thing of yours makes me late, by the Gods, I will serve your kidneys to Janet for breakfast tomorrow," Miranda said as she trudged across the muddy trail, her wellies sinking into the soft ground.

It was nearly Sunday afternoon and after a string of complaints from the Parks Service to the South Wales Police and the RSPCA about dead birds, the entire Torchwood team was searching the Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve.

"How is this my fault, Will?" Jack said as he combed through the reeds and tall grass looking for the errant alien creature. "If you're so worried about being late, go. The rest of us can handle this."

"I found another one over here, Jack!" Gwen called out as she lifted the dead body of a featherless bird and dropped it into a large bin liner.

"Gwen? Toss me that bin liner, I've got another one over here, poor thing," Fish said as he held up the dead body of a wryneck in his gloved hand. The poor body looked small and pathetic without its feathers.

"This is futile, Jack," Miranda snapped. "We've been out here all morning."

"I don't understand why it would leave, there's plenty of food here for it," Jack said.

"Too many people, maybe?" Gwen asked.

"Maybe it's killed off most of the smaller birds and the only source of the feathers it eats are the larger water fowl?" Fish offered.

"Either… or both," Miranda said. "No fresh water? This is a salt marsh…"

"We just found out about the reports of the featherless bodies but they've been going on for about a week now," Ianto said, looking odd in his jeans and t-shirt. "It peaked around Thursday but it's fallen off a bit since then."

"All right everyone, we're done here. Let's all start heading back to the SUV. Ianto? See about ordering some feathers somehow, maybe we can trap it. Gwen, keep an eye out with the locals, it could end up in one of the other parks. Fish, I think it's time to build a better mouse trap," Jack said, his hands on his hips. "And Will? Have fun at the in-laws."

"I'll see all of you Monday," Miranda called out as she trudged back to her car, making sure to shoot Jack a death glare as she passed him. If she went back to the Hub now, she'd have just enough time to clean up and change. She might be a little late picking up Nora but if she pushed the speed limit all the way to London, they'd be on time. She sent a quick text to Nora letting her know that she was on her way. The two had agreed that if Miranda didn't pick Nora up on time, that Nora should leave without her. With her stomach full of butterflies, Miranda pulled into traffic and sped towards the Hub.

She made it to Nora's flat a half hour late. Nora was wringing her hands, nervously, fiddling with the cuff of her sleeve the entire way to London. Miranda could feel her own nerves as well, arriving late was not the first impression she wanted to make. But Miranda had watched Jack Harkness drive the Torchwood SUV for far too long. She'd have to get Fish to fix some speed camera tickets when she returned to Cardiff but the two managed to arrive five minutes early.

Nora squeezed Miranda's hand and rang the bell. Miranda hung back, watching affectionately as Nora greeted her family and then turned to introduce her.

"Miranda this is my sister Carys, my brother Luke, his wife Brooke," Nora said introducing her family members. Miranda did her best to smile and shook hands with each one. She couldn't remember the last time she'd met the family of anyone she'd dated and her stomach was tied in knots. Carys's reception of Miranda was chilly. It seems that Nora's younger sister still hadn't forgiven Miranda for breaking Nora's heart. Luke and his wife were both pleasant and polite but Miranda could feel the tension rolling off them. Miranda wondered if it was always like this when Nora brought her partners home or if it was the fact that this was the first time that one of them had received an invitation.

"My mother, Siwan," Nora said.

"Mrs. Ashline," Miranda said formally, "it's lovely to meet you."

"And you know my Tad of course," Nora said as she introduced her father.

Colonel Ashline looked just as formidable without his uniform but Miranda found it strange to see him in a pair of jeans and a polo shirt. The last time she'd seen the Colonel face to face, it had been in London for the annual Torchwood briefing at UNIT's London headquarters, the Colonel had been in full dress uniform. Now that the two were standing in such proximity, Miranda could see the strong resemblance between father and daughter.

"Colonel Ashline, it's good to see you again," Miranda said, shaking the man's hand.

"You know my husband, Doctor Ryan?" Siwan asked, surprised.

"Yes, ma'am, and please, it's Miranda," she said with a friendly smile. "Your husband and I work together on occasion."

"Are you with UNIT, Miranda?" asked Luke.

Before Miranda could answer and lie, Colonel Ashline said, "Doctor Ryan works for another agency that we frequently liaise with."

"So you're not military?" Carys asked.

"No, I'm not," Miranda said.

"Let's all have a seat in the lounge and you two can stop interrogating your sister's friend," Siwan said.

Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda saw Nora's jaw tighten at the way her mother had referred to her. Nora was about to open her mouth to protest when Miranda brushed her fingers against Nora's hand. Nora turned to her and Miranda shook her head slightly, giving her lover a soothing look. Nora took a deep breath and sat down next to Miranda on the sofa. Not to be completely dissuaded, she clasped Miranda's hand in full view of her family. Miranda saw the Colonel and his wife both shift uncomfortably in their seats and she suppressed a grin.

Luke's wife cleared her throat and said, "What sort of medicine do you practice?"

"I do consulting for a government agency. As the Colonel knows, I can't really discuss my work," Miranda said. It was the half veiled lie that she had once told Nora. "Before that I was a surgeon, in New York."

"In America? No wonder you can afford the pretty trinkets," Carys said, poking the bracelet that Miranda had bought Nora.

Miranda was about to open her mouth with a snide remark of her own when Nora's mother snapped at her daughter in Welsh.

"Stop it, Carys! You're embarrassing yourself and your sister," Siwan said.

"She's trying to buy Nora's affection, Mam!" Carys spat back at her mother in Welsh.

"Enough, Carys, you're being rude," Siwan said.

"Am I the only one who cares that she broke Nora's heart?" Carys exclaimed. "Now, you two invite her over for dinner?"

The argument continued on in Welsh and started to become more heated. Nora was flushing deeper and deeper as her family argued and Luke joined in. Nora drew in a breath to speak several times but seemed to be unable to get in a word. Carys continued to insult Miranda and her intentions while Siwan tried to placate her youngest and Luke continued to try to mediate between the two. The Colonel was oddly silent through the entire argument but occasionally casting a glance Miranda's way as if waiting for her to put a stop to it all. How he knew that Miranda could understand every word, she had no idea. Finally, Miranda felt it had all gone on long enough and cleared her throat loudly.

"Forgive my children, Doctor Ryan," Siwan said. "They forget their manners."

Miranda turned to Nora and quirked her eyebrow.

Nora nodded at her, an evil smile on her face and said, "Oh, go on."

"No apologies are necessary, Mrs. Ashline. I know that your youngest is being protective of her older sister and that no offence was intended," Miranda said, in flawless Welsh.

Brooke turned her head quickly and covered her mouth to hide the grin on her face. She failed to suppress some of the laughter as Miranda saw her shoulders shaking slightly. Luke didn't even try and burst out laughing as he cast his youngest sister an evil look. Siwan looked scandalised and embarrassed and Carys looked completely mortified. The Colonel remained impassive save for the smallest curl to one corner of his mouth.

Still flushed, Siwan retreated to the kitchen with Carys and Nora to set out dinner. They had shoved down Miranda's offers of help, leaving her in the lounge with Luke, Brooke and the Colonel. The three of them sat making awkward small talk until Siwan called them to the table.

The family joined hands and the Colonel spoke with a bowed head, "Bless, O Father, Thy gifts to our use and us to Thy service; for Christ's sake. Amen."

The beginning of the meal was spent mostly in silence as most of the family members cast nervous glances at Miranda and each other. Gradually, the mood relaxed and the silence was filled with some more awkward small talk and random conversation. By the time the meal was completely done, everyone had relaxed well enough to begin questioning Miranda again.

"So how did you two meet?" Luke asked. He was scraping the plates into a bowl and then piling them in front of him.

"Alvin. He bolted and ran across Bute Park. Miranda saved the day. Isn't that right, Cariad?" Nora said, smiling. She draped her arm loosely around Miranda's shoulder. Miranda noticed the slightly startled looks from the rest of the family at the endearment.

"I wouldn't call darting after a dog saving the day, love," Miranda said with a smile.

As the family got up to begin clearing the table, Miranda was pushed back down into her seat again.

"Don't even try, Miranda. I've been married to this oaf for two years and they still won't let me lift a finger," Brooke said.

Miranda smiled and got up from her chair anyway not to help but to watch. A soft smile played on her lips as she watched the Ashlines interact in the kitchen. They each had their own places and jobs. It was easy to see why she and Brooke weren't allowed to help, it would have thrown a wrench into a well oiled machine. Miranda couldn't help but smile at the family scene feeling a stab of longing for the normalcy and a little bit of jealousy. The family was oblivious to her watching them until her mobile went off. With a frustrated sigh, she pulled the phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. _Jack._ "Excuse me, I'm sorry but I have to take this."

She connected the call and lifted the phone to her ear. "Ryan… Just a moment, Jack," she turned to the Colonel who was taking the filled left over containers from Luke and putting them away in the fridge.

"The back door," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Colonel," Miranda said as she strode towards the Ashline's back door. She went through the door and moved as far away from the house as the backyard would allow.

"Sorry about that, Jack… No, we just finished dinner. What's going on?… Blast, is Ifan okay?… Do you need me back?… If you're positive they're not poisonous, then there's no need for the A&E if you don't think he needs stitches… Of course, just clean them out really well and I'll take a look when I get back… No, Jack… No, Jack… You're sure?… Right… Right… Tell him I'm looking at them anyway. I can hear him in the background… Maybe some antibiotics… After midnight… Are you sure?… Right… Okay, thanks, Jack…" Miranda disconnected the call with a sigh. The niffler was proving to be more annoying, it had broken into a local home goods store and devoured the linens section. Its entry to the store had triggered the alarm and the niffler managed to escape again after sinking its teeth into Ianto's hand.

"Doctor Ryan? If there is some emergency, I can have a UNIT helicopter at your disposal in ten minutes to take you to Cardiff," the Colonel said from the back doorway.

Miranda put her phone away and said, "Thank you, but that won't be necessary, Colonel. Captain Harkness was updating me on an ongoing situation."

"Anything UNIT needs to be aware of?" he asked.

"Nothing like that," Miranda said and noting that the door behind the Colonel was open said, "A small pest problem."

The Colonel's eyebrows raised but he said nothing. Instead, he stepped through the doorway, closing the door and stepping towards her. "You and my daughter appear to be doing well. I'm pleased."

Miranda raised her eyebrow and didn't bother concealing her surprise or annoyance. "I mean no disrespect, Colonel, but I find that hard to believe. You were quite against our relationship on a number of levels, not all of them to do with my work or - how was it you termed it? My 'abnormality'."

"You are a woman of faith, Doctor Ryan?" the Colonel asked.

"I am, sir," she said.

"And you have no conflict between your faith and this… lifestyle?" he asked.

"I am baptised a Catholic, Colonel, but I was born before that faith's inception. I have never seen anything in my long life to make me believe that love, in any form, is wrong."

The Colonel gave her an appraising look. "You're far older than I thought."

"I trust you will be discrete, Colonel. My unique nature is a secret I guard carefully," Miranda said with a hint of chill in her voice.

"Your secret is safe with me," he assured. "Do not mistake me, Doctor Ryan, I'm pleased that Nora is happy but I don't understand my daughter's choices. As her father, I only want what is best for her. Do you have children?"

Miranda felt a fist clench around her heart. She blinked back against the tears trying to force their way out as memories of laugher and smiles long passed rose in her mind.

Her voice unsteady, she said softly, "I raised a son once."

"And did you not want the best for him? To see him grow into a man with every opportunity?"

"I did my best, as every parent does. My son is long dead," Miranda said, choking on the words.

Ashline stepped forward, putting a hand on Miranda's shoulder. "I'm sorry. The loss of a child is something no parent should ever have to endure."

"He lived a full and long life. I buried him as an old man but it's a loss that I've never recovered from," Miranda said. "And please, we're not working. It's Miranda."

"Marcus," he said with a soft smile but then his tone and expression turned serious. "May I ask you a favor, one parent to another?"

Miranda answered him only with a quizzical look.

"Every parent worries about their child. We cannot always be there… we will not always be there to watch over them and even when they have grown, they are still our children and it is impossible to see them any other way," the Colonel sighed. "No matter what happens between you and my daughter, will you watch over her, when her mother and I are gone?"

"I love Nora very much," Miranda said firmly. "I will always watch over her as long as I am able."


	19. Chapter 19

Miranda pulled into the rest station and parked. They were about halfway back to Cardiff and the two women wanted to stretch their legs. The rest stop was fairly deserted as it was nearly midnight.

"Can you get me a bottle of water, Cariad?" Nora asked. "I'm going to use the loo."

"Sure love," Miranda said as she moved towards the Costa Coffee. She grabbed a bottle of water and waited in the small queue. After she paid, she waited for Nora outside the loo and the two women walked back to the car together.

"Don't worry about Carys, she'll come around," Nora said.

"Your sister has good reason to dislike me, love. I'm not quite sure about your brother," Miranda said.

"Luke likes you. Brooke liked you too but then again Brooke likes everyone," Nora said with an eye roll.

"You don't like your sister-in-law?" Miranda asked as they neared the car.

"It's not that, it's just that Brooke tries so hard to please everyone," Nora said with a shake of her head. "Luke takes advantage of that sometimes, walks all over the poor woman."

Miranda was about to respond when a sharp pressure formed between her temples. She stiffened and looked around, holding up a hand to Nora to tell her to be quiet.

"Someone's here," Miranda hissed.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Another immortal…" Miranda pushed Nora between the two cars closest to them. "Stay here."

Miranda reached into her coat and wrapped her hand around the hilt of her sword, she stepped away from the row of cars and looked around. When she turned to the right, she saw him. It wasn't Adaf Terfel and Miranda breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was an older man who looked to be in his mid-fifties. He appeared to have just gotten out of his own car. He looked up and down the aisle and then locked his gaze with Miranda's. He opened the back door of his car and lifted out his own blade.

Miranda turned back towards Nora who was staring at the other man's sword, wide eyed and fearful. While keeping one eye on this newcomer, Miranda handed her the car keys and her mobile phone and then drew her sword from inside her coat. Nora looked at it, eyes widened further. It was the first time she'd seen it. "I don't want you to watch this, Nora. I'm going to try to talk to him first. If any fighting starts, get in the car, drive back to Cardiff and call Jack."

Nora didn't seem to know what to do. "I can't just leave you here alone! Please, Miranda, don't do this!"

"You have to, Nora. I can't defend myself if I'm worried about you. I'm sorry," she said. "I love you."

Miranda kissed Nora gently and turned away from her. She tried to build a wall in her mind between what she was walking away from and what she was walking towards. She held her head high and tightened her grip on her sword, giving it a few small swings to loosen her muscles. She stopped a defendable distance from the newcomer, eyeing him warily. He looked exhausted, as if he'd been driving a long time. It made Miranda hopeful that this encounter could be avoided all together. Even if this man did want to fight, Miranda knew she would have the advantage if her opponent was fatigued and weary from travel.

Miranda bowed low and said, "I am Chen Mao-Lin."

"Dominique Beauclerc," he said returning the bow. His French accent was thick and he looked a little embarrassed. "I have no right to ask, but may I use the toilet before we start this?"

Miranda smiled and switched to French. "I have no quarrel with you, Monsieur Beauclerc. I would be most grateful if my partner and I could be on our way. I would owe you a debt."

The relief on Beauclerc's face was evident. "There is no debt, Madame. Like two ships, we shall pass in the night."

Miranda bowed again. "Until the Gathering then?"

"Let us not go that far, Madame," he said with a chuckle and Miranda laughed.

He looked down at his sword and at his car.

"I will not attack you, Monsieur Beauclerc. I give you my word, on my honour," Miranda said as she replaced her sword into her coat. With a bow she said, "God speed to you."

"Thank you, Madame. The same to you," he said, stowing his blade in his car.

When Miranda got back to the car, she had Nora move to the passenger seat. She was pleased to see the car was already running and backed it out of the parking space and merged onto the M4.

"Miranda? What happened?" Nora asked.

"It's fine, love, I was able to avoid fighting him," Miranda said.

"So that's it?" Nora asked, skeptical.

"That's it."

"He just let you walk away?"

Miranda smiled and said, "He needed the loo more than my head."

Nora laughed at the absurdity of it. "You're taking the piss."

"So is he apparently," Miranda said joining the laughter a little.

Nora abruptly fell silent and Miranda looked over to see Nora breathing heavily, her hands shaking slightly.

"Nora? Nora!?" Miranda exclaimed, reaching her hand over to her lover. "I'm pulling over."

Miranda pulled the car onto the shoulder and turned the hazard lights on. She turned in the driver's seat and took Nora's hands into hers, they were ice cold and shaking.

"You could have died…" Nora said, gasping.

"Nora? Look at me," Miranda ordered. "Take a deep breath, slowly."

Nora obeyed, drawing in a shaky breath and exhaling slowly.

"Good. I'm here. We're safe. I won't let anything happen to either of us," Miranda said.

"How do you do it? Any moment… any minute… someone could come for you…" Nora said, her voice a bare whisper.

"It's the way of it," Miranda said softly. "It's the same for you. You could get into a car accident. You could get an illness. The situation is the same, the circumstances are just different."

"What if he comes back?" Nora asked, fearful.

"Then I will remind him of tonight," Miranda said.

"Do you think that would matter?"

"I won't lie, Nora. Not all of my kind fight in the Game with honour but many of us are from a different time, when a man's word was his bond," Miranda said.

The two women sat there for a few moments, Miranda rubbing Nora's hands to warm them. Nora seemed to be calming down, the fear had left her eyes.

"What was that name you gave him? Is that your real one?" Nora asked.

"I didn't think you heard that."

"You didn't answer my question."

Miranda sighed. "No, it isn't my real name."

"What's your real name?" Nora asked.

"Does it matter?" Miranda asked.

Her lover stared at her, her mouth a thin line and a glare in her eyes.

"Nora, please. I'm not keeping it from you because I don't want you to know. I'm keeping it from you because it's dangerous for you to know. I am one of the oldest immortals alive. My head is valuable."

Nora pulled her hands out of Miranda's and turned around in her seat, staring out of the windscreen. With a sigh, Miranda turned off the car's hazard lights and pulled back into traffic. The rest of the ride back to Cardiff was spent in silence and Miranda parked her car illegally in front of Nora's flat rather than finding a legitimate parking spot. The two sat in the car for a few minutes in awkward silence. Miranda holding firm and not wanting to give into Nora's silent treatment. Nora was reminding Miranda vividly of her second wife, Isabetta who had been a master of the silent treatment because she had known Miranda had little resolve against it. The silent treatment was petty and childish to Miranda but most of all, it wasted time and time wasn't something Miranda liked to waste with the mortals she loved in her life.

Nora reached for the door handle and went to leave the car without a word. Miranda felt her willpower crumble and she reached out for Nora's arm before she could step out of the car. "Yi Mei-Xiu."

She let go of Nora's arm and turned in her seat, angry at herself for giving in. Nora rested her hand on Miranda's arm.

"I'm sorry, Cariad," Nora said softly. "I didn't mean to force it out of you."

"Keeping things from the people I'm close to is almost second nature to me, Nora. It's something I've done for centuries and it's a hard habit for me to break," Miranda said. "It's not something I like doing. There are only a bare handful of people alive who know that name."

"Thank you for trusting me," Nora said, taking hold of Miranda's hand.

"It's not a matter of trusting you or not," she said, a little exasperated. "I don't like keeping things from you, Nora but when I don't tell you something, there's usually a damned good reason for it. It's for my safety as well as yours. I can't always explain and I know it seems condescending and patronising for me to say it this way but sometimes you need to trust my judgment."

"I'm not a child, Miranda," Nora said, annoyed.

"I know that, but there is a lot about what I am that you don't understand," Miranda said. "Nora, you can't immediately assume the reason I'm hiding something from you is because I'm being deceptive. I just don't want someone to try to use you against me. Some of these men are ruthless, born a long time before gender equality or even chivalry. They consider women nothing more than objects, no better than cattle. I'm trying to protect you. Something as simple as my name can put you in very serious danger."

"I don't see how that's possible. You're not even using the name now," Nora said.

"That's my point, Nora. There's a reason I'm not using the name anymore," Miranda said, losing her temper a little, "and before you ask, no I can't tell you exactly why because it would take a lifetime to explain. I don't just change names to conceal the fact that I don't age. I change names to keep myself hidden from the others. The Game is a man's world. Few female immortals live past a century, we are considered easy prey. If it was known that a four thousand year old woman was living in Wales, I would have every immortal man in Europe descending upon me."

Miranda saw the lightbulb go off over Nora's head. The remorse on her face made her look small. She looked down at her hands, folded on her lap and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise."

"I know you didn't, love," Miranda said. "It's why you need to trust me sometimes."

"I will. I do," Nora said and laid her hands on Miranda's. "Are you coming up?"

Miranda shook her head. "Not tonight, love."

"You're still cross with me," Nora said softly.

"No, I'm not," Miranda said, turning in her seat to cup Nora's face. "I promise, love. I'm not cross with you."

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Nora asked.

"Barring the end of the world, of course," Miranda said with a smile. "I'll stay tomorrow."

"I'll see you after you get off work then?"

Miranda nodded. "Go on, Alvin will be near bursting."

"I have something for you first," Nora laughed and reached into her back pocket. She held two small brass keys in her hands and handed them to Miranda. "For you."

"What's this for?"

Nora spread the keys and pointed to them in turn. "This one is for the front door and this one is for the flat."

"Nora…"

"Wipe that panicked look off your face, Cariad. I'm not asking you to move in. I'm just letting you know you're welcome here any time. You don't need to keep knocking and ringing the bell," Nora said, putting the keys into Miranda's hand.


	20. Chapter 20

"Tad wanted to see if we were coming for Sunday dinner again and they're starting to ask about Christmas," Nora said as she picked a dog toy up off the shelf. It was late evening and Miranda and Nora had ducked into a pet shop on Albany road to buy Alvin food.

"I know this is a weekly thing for your family, love, but I can't vanish to London every Sunday," Miranda said, a bit impatient. "We've been there three Sundays in a row."

"I know it's your only full day off, Cariad," Nora said, "but they're used to me being there every Sunday. Tad understands you could get called to work."

"It's not just work, Nora," Miranda said, tersely. "London is a big 's not safe for me. You saw what happened at the service station."

"I still don't understand why you even have to fight," Nora said, her voice clipped and short. It was a common disagreement between the two women. "That man let you go."

"I don't want to get into this discussion again, Nora. I've already explained that it's not that simple," Miranda said with a sigh. "Unless I want to live on holy ground, I can't remove myself from the Game and Beauclerc letting me walk away was luck."

"You don't need to be so condescending about it, Miranda," Nora snapped.

"I'm sorry, love," Miranda said, rubbing Nora's arm. "I've had to deal with this for a long time, I forget that it's new to you."

"It's not that," Nora said, dropping her voice and looking up and down the aisle nervously. The shop would be closing soon and it was deserted. "You're right, I don't want to quarrel."

"No, Nora, tell me what it is?" Miranda said, dropping her voice as well.

"I see that your work is important, I can accept that. I just don't understand this game of yours. I don't see why you have to fight and why you all choose to."

In all of her life, Miranda had often thought the same thing. She continued to fight in the Game because she had no real choice in the matter and because she wanted to survive. But, unlike the Watchers, Miranda had no grand illusions about the Game. She didn't believe its outcome would influence humanity nor did she think there was some great plan in it all. It might sound cynical but Miranda had too often seen bloodshed merely for its own sake.

"I don't understand it myself, Nora. I never have but I've never wanted it to be different," she said, "if there was no Game I would have died long ago and I never would have met you."

Miranda reached up and caressed Nora's cheek with her fingertips. "You only say things like that so that I'll stop being cross with you," Nora said with a smile.

"It worked didn't it?" Miranda said, wrapping her arm around Nora's waist and drawing her close. She plucked the dog toy from Nora's hand and put it back onto the shelf, leaning against Nora as she did. She ran her fingers along the bottom hem of Nora's shirt, letting her fingertips expose a small strip of skin.

Nora's eyes darkened at the seductive move and she smiled at her lover. "We're in the wrong aisle for Alvin's food."

"You're the one who wanted to get him another chew toy," Miranda said, sliding her fingers into the waistband of Nora's jeans and tugging her close.

"He has enough chew toys and he has enough food to get him through tomorrow," Nora said as she dipped her head to nibble at Miranda's neck. "Take me to bed, Cariad…"

The two women's heads snapped up as the sounds of a disturbance from the rear of the shop reached them. Curious, they walked towards the sound and saw the shopkeeper with a broom in his hand, raised in the air defensively.

"Are you all right, sir?" Miranda asked.

"Oh, a fox in my shop! Killing my birds!" the shopkeeper exclaimed.

Miranda craned her head to the bird enclosure, it appeared empty but then she saw a dead bird, its featherless body laying on the ledge of the glass.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step back," Miranda asked, taking out her credentials from her wallet and flashing them. The shopkeeper gratefully stepped backwards. "Nora? I'm sorry, love, I need your coat."

"My coat? Why?" Nora asked.

"It's down," Miranda said as she took the small finger blade from her belt. "I'll get you a new one, I promise."

As Nora took off her coat, Miranda peered into the free standing bird enclosure. She saw a pair of bright green eyes staring back at her from behind a box at the bottom of the enclosure. Nora tapped her shoulder, holding out the coat. Miranda slit one of the puffy sections of the coat, dumping the down feathers out in front of the enclosure door. After she had a fair sized pile, Miranda opened the enclosure door and pushed the feathers in.

A squat, fat animal waddled its way out from behind the box. It had short, smooth brown fur and a long snout. Miranda suppressed a smile as that snout dug into the pile of feathers, sucking them up like a small hoover. She slit another section of the coat and took out a handful of the down feathers. She opened the enclosure door slowly and the alien creature backed away, retreating behind the box.

Miranda crouched down, clicked her tongue softly and held out the handful of feathers. She pitched her voice low and spoke slowly and softly, "No, no. I'm not going to hurt you. Come here, little one, nice, soft, tasty feathers…"

She continued to coo and softly click at the animal and it peered out from behind its box. "Hi there, little one… hungry?"

The small creature was larger than she thought it would be. Jack had described it as the size of a cat but, in fact, the animal was the size of a large raccoon. Miranda smiled softly and reached out a little further with her hand. "It's all right, little one."

It continued to move forward, slowly, sniffing the air. Miranda opened her hand, letting some of the downy feathers flutter to the floor. The creature immediately sniffed them up and then raised its head to eat from Miranda's hand, sniffling a few feathers out of her fingers. It waddled towards Miranda a little more and she raised her eyebrow a little. She couldn't believe this slow, lumbering creature captured and fed on birds until a long, whip-like tongue slithered out of its small snout with amazing speed. The long, thin tongue wrapped around her fingers and her hand and then disappeared back into the animal's snout with the down feathers stuck to it. The alien waddled forward a few more steps, sat back on its haunches and peered at Miranda with its bright green eyes.

"That's it, little one. I'm not going to hurt you," Miranda said as she shuffled herself forward and reached out her hand to touch the creature's head. It ducked down away from her at first but Miranda was able to pat it on the head, gently. She felt behind her with her foot for Nora's coat that she'd left on the floor behind her and dragged it towards her without taking her eyes off the creature.

Miranda showed the coat to the animal, opening the cut she'd made before, showing the feathers. "Look, I have lots more."

The creature waddled towards her and buried its snout into the coat's down filling. Miranda smiled as she continued to pat the creature's head, sliding her hand backwards down its neck. She continued to pat gently, easing her hand further and further back on the creature's back and finally sliding her hand down the creature's side. The creature stopped eating and looked up at her.

"I know, you're scared. I'm not going to hurt you. Will you let me pick you up, little one?" Miranda asked and the creature returned to its meal.

Miranda eased her hand under the creature's belly and slowly lifted it into the coat as she stood up. She turned around, wrapping the coat around the creature and gently stroking its head. She swore it was purring.

"Oh! It's adorable!" Nora whispered.

"My mobile is in my back pocket. Do you mind calling Jack for me?" Miranda asked.

Nora dug Miranda's phone out of her pocket and dialed Jack's phone number, holding the phone up to her lover's ear. "Hi Jack. Good news, I have the niffler… I'll be at the Hub shortly… No, Nora is with me… Yes, both of us. Make sure you two are decent and by you two I mean you, Jack… Because Ifan at least has some sense of propriety… Yes… Thirty minutes… No, I want you to turn to Ifan and tell him that because I want him to set his watch… Thank you, Jack. See you soon."

Nora disconnected the call and put the phone back into Miranda's pocket. "Want me to drive you to work?"

"Please, I'm sorry, love," Miranda said as they walked out of the shop and towards Miranda's car.

"It's fine, Cariad," Nora said with a smile. "Is it really from another world?"

"Yes, poor thing, we can't send it home," Miranda said, absently stroking the creature's head.

"What will happen to it?" Nora asked. "You're not going to destroy it are you?"

"Absolutely not," Miranda said. "We may be able to train it, keep it at the Hub."

The drive to the Hub was quick and Miranda had Nora park up by the Plass. The two women stepped onto the invisible lift.

"My PDA is in my purse, just hit the icon on the right that says lift. When you press it, the lift will descend, don't move and hang onto my arm," Miranda said.

Nora's eyes widened and she gasped as the lift descended down. She gaped around as the lift slowly lowered to the main Hub floor. When it came to a stop, Jack and Ianto were waiting for them.

"Nora, you've met Captain Harkness already and this is Ianto Jones," Miranda said.

"Lovely to be introduced properly, at last," Nora said, shaking both of the men's hands.

"Welcome to Torchwood, Miss Ashline," Ianto said.

"Oh, Nora please," she said and Ianto beamed at her.

"Good to see you again, Nora," Jack said with a smile.

Miranda shot Jack a glare and said, "Don't you start!"

"Can't I say hello to anyone?" Jack said indignantly.

"Mandy, I've readied a cell downstairs, a feather pillow and some water. There are some old boxes and blankets for it to hide and sleep."

"I'll be right back, Nora. Please ignore anything Jack says about… anything," Miranda said as she crossed the main Hub towards the stairs.

"She's been really happy since you two got back together," Jack said, crossing his hands over his chest. He jutted his chin out defensively.

"Am I about to get the 'if you break my friend's heart you'll regret it' speech?" Nora asked a little sarcastically as she did the same, assuming her own defensive position.

"Jack," Ianto said, putting his hand on his lover's shoulder. "Go see if Mandy needs help."

Jack didn't move, he stood there staring down Nora.

"Jack," Ianto repeated a little more firmly.

Jack turned on his heel and disappeared down the east stairs.

"Sorry about him," Ianto said. "He's protective of Miranda. They've been friends a long time."

"All this is a bit overwhelming for me too," Nora said, snapping a little.

Ianto nodded, unphased by Nora's bristling. "You worry that you'll get old and she won't see you the same. You worry that she'll get bored of you, move on to someone younger. You wonder how many came before you and you wonder how many will come after or if she'll even remember you after you're gone or will your face and your name just blur with time."

Nora's eyes widened as looked towards the stairway Jack had used to leave the room. "I don't think I can take much more of this…"

"Don't let them know I told you. I know how you feel, Nora. I understand. I wanted you to know that. If you want to talk, ever," Ianto handed her a small card, "this is my mobile."

Nora took the card from him. "Thank you."

"We should all get together for drinks, you, Mandy and the team. We'd all like that," Ianto said.

"Maybe not your boyfriend," Nora said.

"Don't worry about Jack," Ianto said. "Like I said, he's protective of Mandy. The two of them go way back."

"I don't think I want to know," Nora groaned. "That statement has whole new meaning with the two of them."

Ianto laughed. "It certainly does. Mandy doesn't have anyone else but us. We're her family and everyone would like to meet you. Think about it."

Jack and Miranda came back up the east stairs and Jack looked decidedly scolded. Ianto wished he'd have been a fly on the wall for that one. It always amused the Welshman when Jack received one of Miranda's tongue lashings.

"I'll be in tomorrow, Jack," Miranda said.

"It's late. Nora's welcome here tonight," Jack said with a shake of his head. "Will? Why don't you take her downstairs to your rooms? Good night you two."

Jack strode back towards his office and after a quick wish of goodnight from Ianto, his lover followed him.

"Aren't they going home?" Nora asked, confused.

"They are home. They live here with me," Miranda said and then rethinking said, "Actually, saying that I live here with them is probably more accurate. Do you want to stay here tonight, Nora?"

"I don't want to impose, Cariad," Nora said shyly.

"You're not imposing, love," Miranda said and led Nora down the north staircase as the other woman sent a quick text to her neighbor, asking her to take care of Alvin. She was glad that Myfanwy hadn't made an appearance. Nora seemed to a bit nervous and the pterodactyl would have been worse.

"I can't believe all this is under the Millennium Centre," Nora said gazing up and down the vast hallways.

"It's been here since the Victorian era," Miranda said opening the door to her rooms and letting Nora in. "Drink? I have beer, water and soda."

"Of course you have soda," Nora chuckled. "I'll take some water, please. What is it with you and the soda anyway?"

"You live ninety percent of your life without refined sugar and see which beverage you prefer," Miranda said with an eye roll.

"I suppose that's the same reason you always scald me when we take a shower together?" Nora asked with a laugh.

"Do you know how hard it used to be to make water hot a few hundred years ago?" Miranda said with another eye roll.

"Loo?" Nora asked after she'd stopped chuckling.

Miranda pointed to the door just passed the kitchen and then the bedroom. "There's that one and then there's one in the bedroom."

"Thanks," Nora said cheerfully as she headed straight for Miranda's bedroom.

Miranda got Nora a glass of water and set it down on the coffee table. Nora came out of Miranda's bedroom, an ornate silver picture frame in her hand and Miranda felt herself blanche. She'd wondered if Nora had chosen that bathroom so she could snoop a bit. She didn't mind if Nora looked around… but she'd forgotten about the picture of her and Jack completely. It was their wedding photo.

"This is Jack," Nora said, turning the frame to Miranda. "You two are married?"

Nora's face was inscrutable. Miranda swallowed on a dry throat. She had no idea what could be going through Nora's mind. How could Ianto possibly have felt when he'd found out about Miranda's existence? All sorts of different thoughts crossed her mind, each one worse than the one before. Afraid, Miranda fell back on obscurity.

"It's very, very complicated, Nora," Miranda said, slowly, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

"Because he's immortal too?" Nora asked and then added when she saw Miranda's eyes widen, "Ianto told me. Don't be cross with him. He thought I could use a friend, someone who understood."

Miranda nodded. "Jack isn't an immortal of the Game. Something happened to him to make him the way he is. He ages but very, very slowly. Because he's not part of the Game, I can't sense him. When I met him in 1919, I didn't know what he was and he didn't know what I was. It's why he calls me 'Will'. I was going by the name Wilhelmina Cho at the time. Things didn't work out between us… at all. In fact, to say it was disastrous is being kind."

"You lied to me," Nora said, her face scrunched.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"When you told me why you left your husband in 1920! It was Jack!" Nora said, a little anger in her voice.

Miranda blinked, the memories of all that time ago flooding through her. "I told you what was true at the time, Nora. I didn't know what Jack was and I didn't tell him about me. I thought he was a mortal man, a soldier returning home from war. I left him for precisely the reasons I told you. I thought he deserved better. I didn't find out Jack was immortal until the second war when I saw him in 1941."

"And that was the end of it?" Nora asked with suspicion.

It took Miranda a moment to formulate an answer.

"It wasn't was it?" Nora asked, her eyes blazing.

"Jack was my last lover, seven years ago. If you want to go through my entire back catalog, Nora, we'll be here for quite a while," Miranda said a bit impatient.

"Are you sleeping with him now?" Nora snapped out the question like a whip.

The question cut Miranda deeply. Nora had just seen Jack walking away hand in hand with Ianto Jones. Miranda was about to vehemently deny the accusation but then she realised what was going on.

"You're jealous!" Miranda said.

"I am not!" Nora said, defensively and blushed.

"You are!" Miranda said and then smiled. She got up off the sofa and cross over to her lover. She put her arms around Nora, despite her half protests. "Nora… I won't lie to you, love. There have been others before you and there will be others after. But right now? Right here? It's just us. That is the way I want it. And it will be for as long as you want it that way."

Nora blinked a few times. She knew she was being silly. She saw the way Jack had looked at Ianto and the way he had looked at Miranda and the two looks were worlds apart. A swirl of emotions had gone through her when she'd spied the picture on Miranda's dresser. The jealousy had been the strongest emotion. The green had welled up in her but it was gone now. So what if Miranda and Jack had shared a bed seven years ago? Or a marriage nearly a hundred years ago? Miranda was with her now. She scolded herself for her knee jerk reaction. She'd been having so many of them lately.

"That bed does look comfortable…" Nora said with a wicked grin, wrapping her arms around Miranda's neck.

Miranda pulled Nora in for a heated kiss and then dragged her off to the bedroom.


	21. Chapter 21

Nora and Miranda entered the pub, holding hands. Miranda craned her neck, looking for the rest of the Torchwood team, finally spotting them at a large table by the pub window. She waved and then looked at Nora, the two women exchanging a broad smile. She dragged Nora towards the table and made the introductions, Nora shaking hands with each of the team in turn. Ianto had arranged this little pub night out and Miranda couldn't help but smile at it all.

"Ah, another Torchwood widow!" Rhys said with a laugh as he gave a blushing Nora a kiss on the cheek. He patted the empty seat next to him. "C'mon, take a load off."

Miranda helped Nora out of her coat and got a grin from Ianto. She winked at him, taking the seat next to Nora.

"Everyone be nice to Nora or her father will make our lives a living hell," she said jokingly.

"Your life, maybe, Will," Jack said with a laugh.

"I've got the first round. Usuals everyone?" Fish said brightly and everyone around the table nodded. "Nora? What's your poison?"

"Just a beer thank you… Joe was it?"

"Fish. They all call me Fish. I can't get them to stop. It's her fault," Fish added, pointing a finger at Miranda. "No beer for you!"

Everyone at the table chuckled at the slight inside jokes. Miranda almost never drank and Fish was merely tolerant of the team's use of his old school nickname. The Australian rose from the table and headed for the bar. When he returned, he distributed the drinks.

"What happened to that little animal? What did you call it? A niffler?" Nora asked.

"You mean Dewi?" Jack asked.

"You named it Dewi?" Nora giggled.

"Him," Miranda said a little indignant.

"Do I even want to know how you figured out an alien creature is male?" Nora said with a laugh.

"We've sort of adopted him," Gwen said with a smile. "He's taken quite a liking to Miranda."

"He sleeps in a bed under my desk," Miranda said with a laugh.

"The thing is a bloody menace! He leaves feathers everywhere," Ianto lamented. "He scares the pterodactyl!"

"Just needs a bit of training up, mate. He's quite intelligent," Fish said, "even uses a litter pan."

Nora barked out a laugh and the Torchwood team plus two settled into comfortable small talk and, as usual, Jack had to tell one of his barely believable stories.

"You know, none of us know whether to take you seriously when you say those things," Fish said with a laugh.

"When you've lived as long as Will and I have, you don't make any more up," Jack said with a shrug and Miranda shot him a death glare. She saw Jack jerk slightly. Ianto had kicked him under the table. The Torchwood team were used to jokes and banter surrounding Jack and Miranda's immortality and their respective long lives. Nora was only just adjusting and Jack was being woefully obtuse. Miranda was about to make a chastising remark at Jack when she felt a tight pressure forming between her temples, the presence of another immortal.

"Mandy? Everything all right?" Ianto was looking at her curiously. The look on her face was eerily familiar.

"Excuse me… I just need to step outside for some air," she quickly grabbed her coat, hoping to make her exit before her friends realised something was wrong.

The pub's door opened. A lanky man wearing a long trench coat entered the pub, his mouth twisted into an evil grin. _Adaf Terfel_… Miranda moved around the table to stand between him and her friends.

"Ah, my Chink harlot!" he said sweetly.

The sound of wooden chairs scraping the floor echoed in the pub as the entire Torchwood team rose to Miranda's defence. Jack had stood up so fast, his chair had toppled over. Even Nora had angrily jumped up. Terfel's voice had carried and the racial slur was drawing stares from the rest of the pub.

"Not here, Terfel," Miranda said but Terfel didn't move.

"Oh I think here is good. I told you I'd be back for you… for some _special_ time together," he took two brisk steps towards Miranda.

The team drew their guns, aiming directly at Terfel. The rest of the pub emptied not without a few screams. Miranda could see Kiernan talking on his mobile. _Getting the police to stay away no doubt_. Gratefully, she saw that Rhys had pushed Nora behind him.

"Not here, Terfel. Outside, down the square. Now!"

Terfel still wouldn't move. He leaned into Miranda's personal space. He put his mouth close to her ear and sniffed deeply. "Ah, you still smell like a whore."

She managed to suppress the shudder of revulsion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rhys use his arms to keep Nora at bay. Fish, on the other hand, had no one restraining him. He shoved Terfel back from Miranda and then managed to land a solid punch to Terfel's jaw, sending the immortal man sprawling.

"Get the fuck away from her!" Fish shouted.

Terfel immediately started to laugh as he spat blood onto the pub floor.

Miranda saw the situation was rapidly spiraling out of hand. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Jack was stepping forwards towards Terfel. She fisted her hand into the back of Jack's waistcoat, yanking him backwards.

"Fish! Jack! Stop!" she pleaded, pushing both men away.

Miranda locked eyes with Nora who was still standing behind Rhys. _I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… _Miranda fought the urge to embrace her. She tried to pour everything she felt for Nora into the look. It wasn't enough.

"I love you, Nora. Always."

Without even giving Nora a chance to respond, Miranda grabbed a fistful of Terfel's coat, hauled him to his feet and dragged him from the pub.

Right then, Ianto saw him. He hadn't noticed Kiernan Davies until this minute. Ianto could tell the man was rushed to get outside but he stopped and turned towards them to speak.

"All of you have to stay here. If you go out there, you'll distract her." Kiernan looked at Jack and Ianto and tried to keep the accusation out of his voice and failed, "Terfel almost killed her the last time because she was trying to get his focus away from the two of you."

He paused a moment to glance out the pub window, judging which direction the two immortals had gone so that he could follow.

"He knows her weakness is the people she loves. He'll use you all against her… especially you," he continued, focusing his gaze on Nora. "I'm sorry I can't explain more. I have to get out there. I have to observe."

With that, Kiernan, too, rushed from the building. Jack recovered his wits first, storming across the pub and slamming out of the back door. Ianto assumed he was headed for a rooftop somewhere. Fish bolted after Jack and Ianto had to give him points for courage.

Nora was next. She pushed her way passed Rhys and Gwen. It was Ianto who managed to seize her by the arms before she'd reached the pub door.

"Let go of me!" she hissed.

"Nora, don't. Kiernan's right. You'll distract her. She has to stay focused on staying alive, not on protecting us."

"He's going to kill her isn't he!" she shouted through tears.

Ianto held onto Nora, not letting her go. He'd experienced it already, standing back watching, helplessly, as Miranda fought for her life. That day in the cemetery, he'd been certain Miranda would die. When she'd crawled across the cemetery gate's threshold and collapsed, Ianto had thought she was finished. It had taken all his willpower to not interfere although, at the time, he'd been occupied with holding Jack at bay. He couldn't believe a piece of filth like Terfel had obeyed the rules of the Game and hadn't crossed onto the cemetery grounds to finish Miranda off or, more simply, dragged his prey off holy ground for the kill. Ianto's heart was heavy with guilt that his and Jack's presence had endangered her.

Nora sank down to the floor, crying. Gwen and Rhys were talking back and forth animatedly, Rhys confused and Gwen trying to catch him up. Ianto waved at them and they tended to Nora while he went to get Nora a glass of water from behind the bar.

When he returned, Nora was sitting between Gwen and Rhys as the couple tried to comfort the poor woman. He handed the glass of water to Nora who took it wordlessly. She looked to be in shock.

"My Gwenie, I worry about her. Every day she goes to work with Torchwood and I don't know if she's going to be coming home," Rhys said, as he rubbed the woman's back soothingly. "Don't you fret! Gwen says Miranda's brilliant in a fight."

Gwen stood up, leaving Nora in the comforting hands of her husband. Her and Ianto moved away a respectable distance, out of earshot.

"That day with the escape pod? When you came back to the Hub and she was dead? It's the same man isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, his name is Adaf Terfel," Ianto said softly, not wanting them to be overheard.

"Who was that other kid?" she asked.

"His name is Kiernan Davies. Mandy says there's a secret society called The Watchers, that observes the Game. He's her Watcher."

"We've seen him before, remember? That first pub night? After the plants?"

Ianto didn't remember seeing Kiernan in the pub that night but he had seen the man before. After Miranda had first joined the team, Kiernan had cornered him at the dry cleaner's with a plea to warn Miranda about the very man she was now fighting. It felt like so long ago. "He follows Mandy everywhere."

"I don't know if I can just wait here…" Gwen said, hugging her chest, shivering as if cold.

Ianto shook his head. "We shouldn't stay here, Gwen. We should leave. Terfel is dangerous."

"How can we just leave?" she whispered.

"The Watchers, they saw Terfel murder two prostitutes. If Mandy…" he broke off and took a deep breath, "…if this ends badly, he could come back here for us for the sheer sport of it."

Gwen cast a nervous look at Nora and Rhys. "I'll take Rhys home."

"Leave out the back. I'll stay with Nora."

"You know where she lives?"

Ianto nodded. "Jack had me do the background check."

Gwen nodded and after collecting Rhys, left Ianto standing in the middle of the empty pub. Ianto walked over to Nora. He laid a gentle hand on Nora's shoulder.

"Nora? We need to leave."

She shook her head. "No, I'm going to wait for her. She'll be back soon."

Ianto wondered if she was saying that to try to convince herself.

"Nora, if this ends badly, we can't stay here. The man she's fighting is dangerous. He's a killer. He could come back here, come after us." _Come after you…_

Nora shook her head.

"Please, Nora," Ianto pleaded. "She loves you. I have to keep you safe. Nora. Please."

With tears in her eyes, Nora stood up and allowed Ianto to lead her from the pub through the back door. The two of them stepped into the back alleyway, the sound of swords ringing through the night.

Nora walked out of the alley, transfixed by the sound.

"Do you think she's winning?" she asked, her voice a bare whisper.

"She's survived a long time, Nora," Ianto said, though he was wondering the same thing. "C'mon, my car is this way."

Ianto took Nora's arm, steering her towards where his car was parked when suddenly the high pitched scream of a woman cut through the night.

"Miranda! NO!" Nora screamed. She ripped her arm from Ianto's grasp and bolted down the street towards the fighting.

"Nora! No! Come back!" Ianto shouted, darting after her.


	22. Chapter 22

When Miranda left the pub, a light rain was falling. The moment they'd gotten outside, Miranda had twisted her arm, flinging Terfel in front of her. She wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

"Keep moving, across the water, the empty lot. Move!" she snapped.

Terfel recovered from the unbalancing manoeuver and rushed forward, pressing her against the wall, his body flush with hers. He rolled his hips and she could feel his erection pressing into her hip.

"You know, we could skip the fighting…" he whispered into her ear.

She felt bile rising in her throat. Terfel thought she was weak, afraid and unprepared. He had gotten too close to success the last time. He wouldn't get a second chance. She fisted her hands into his coat and pushed him off her with all her strength. He tumbled backwards, his arms pinwheeling. She saw fear flicker across his face before he sniggered and drew his blade. He started walking backwards towards the small footbridge that led across the water. Miranda pulled her own sword, swinging it back and forth, attempting to loosen her muscles as she followed.

When they reached the small island, the rain was falling harder and Terfel lunged for her with a growl. She dodged him and easily parried the blow he swung at her. _Impatient fool_… she thought but the move had been swift, catching her slightly off guard. Her parry didn't have much strength behind it. The quick and fast lunge had left Terfel off balance and she circled around him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kiernan watching from a discrete distance behind an abandoned car.

She flicked her gaze to Kiernan for a moment to ensure he was alone and the distraction was enough to allow Terfel to draw first blood. He made a low lateral swing that sliced through her calf, leaving a gash. With a shout of surprise, Miranda staggered backwards, limping. She tested her weight on the leg, the gash wasn't deep and she'd been lucky. Had the swing been an inch higher, it would have hamstrung her.

Terfel circled around her, a viscous grin on his face. Again, displaying his impatience, he surged forward to attack her injured side, swinging his sword. Miranda blocked the blow and brought her elbow into sharp contact with his face. He merely laughed and then managed to land a punch of his own. Miranda felt her mouth fill with blood and she spat on to the ground.

The battle continued, the sound of swords ringing into the night. Miranda was fighting with as much skill as she could, holding nothing back, determined not to give Terfel a second chance at her head. He was good but she was better. She managed to land two blows of her own, one to Terfel's side and another to his sword arm and then luck turned against her. When she slipped on some of the mud forming in the vacant lot, Terfel landed a strong blow to her sword arm, leaving a deep gash that exposed bone and Miranda screamed. While she fumbled to transfer her sword to her other hand, Terfel managed to disarm her and Miranda rolled backwards, crouching into a defensive position.

"Such spirit!" he yelled into the night.

He swung at her again, twice, both times she managed to dodge and feint her way back towards her fallen sword. She dove for the blade and missed, her reach falling short. She pushed herself up onto all fours to crawl towards the sword and her head snapped up at the sound of her name. To her utter horror, she saw two figures running towards Kiernan, Nora with Ianto close on her heels. _No…_

Suddenly, she felt Terfel's hand close on her ankle and she flipped to defend herself, thrusting aside her concern for Nora. Terfel had planted his sword into the rain softened ground and was dragging her towards him, unarmed. She allowed it. _Again? He can't be serious?!_ It was the same error he had made last time. His face was smug and triumphant. He used a knee to force her legs apart and settled between them. Both of his hands ripped open her blouse and then dove for her belt, yanking her trousers down around her thighs. She couldn't believe his foolishness.

"Fight a little more, it's so much better that way!" he shouted at her as he reach down for his trousers. "When I'm done with you, I'll have to make time for that little tart of yours. Sweet as honey, I bet she is…"

With a cruel smile, Miranda sat up forcefully, head butting him hard in the face. Blood spurted and poured down as his nose shattered. _Idiot…_ His hands flew to his face and he rolled away, screaming and howling.

Miranda stood up and righted her clothing. Wiping the blood from her face, she pulled his sword from the ground and flung it away, not taking her eyes off him. Terfel was on all fours, trying to crawl towards where her own sword had fallen. She delivered a sharp kick into his gut and heard his ribs crack. She delivered several more sharp blows with her boot and then reached down for a handful of his hair, pulling him up into a kneeling position. She grabbed his right wrist and twisted it. Pressing her knee into his side, she yanked sharply, dislocating his shoulder and Terfel let out a shriek of pain. Miranda smiled and bent down for her own sword. Fisting her hand into Terfel's hair again, she pulled his head back, looking him in the eyes. She saw terror and her smile widened.

She let go of his head and gripped her sword tightly, letting the blade sing through the air, arcing down and shouting against the rain, "There can be only one!"

Her sword sliced through Terfel's neck, sending his head rolling away as his body fell forward. The last few beats of his heart causing a pool of blood to form beneath the headless body.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw all three bystanders starting to step towards her.

"Stay back all of you!" she shouted, holding out both her hands in warning. Terfel's body was already glowing and rising from the ground.

The ribbons of lightning danced over the corpse, flying towards Miranda who began to scream. The force of the quickening blew out the windows of the abandoned cars. Sparks rained down from the electrical wires and the sounds of current popping and sputtering filled the air. The stench of ozone was overpowering. They watched Miranda convulse and shake as the bolts of lightning slammed into her. Her eyes were slammed tightly shut as she screamed. As suddenly as it began, the lightning stopped and Miranda fell to her knees, panting heavily, leaning on her sword for support. She tried to stand, but collapsed again.

It was Ianto, not Nora, who ran forward and caught her in his arms, her bloodstained sword clattering to the ground. He heaved her to her feet while she leaned on him heavily, gasping for air. It was nearly a full minute before she'd caught her breath and was able to stand, unaided. Ianto never took his hands off her, wary of her previous unsteadiness.

Nora screamed as black vans descended onto the empty lot. Their doors opened and half a dozen men and women got out, striding towards Terfel's fallen body and head with well practiced precision.

_Watchers…_ Ianto realised.

Kiernan had walked away to join his colleagues. Nora was still standing alone, her eyes wide as she looked from Terfel's body and back to her lover. Miranda gently tugged herself out of Ianto's grasp and started to walk towards Nora. She'd barely taken two steps when Nora started to retreat, taking several hasty steps backwards.

Miranda felt her heart splinter. She held up a calming hand towards Nora and then slowly backed up towards Ianto. Without turning to look at him she said, "Ifan? Could you see Nora safely home please? I… need to speak with Kiernan."

Ianto heard the light quiver in his friend's voice and the lie. He nodded and stepped towards Nora slowly, thankful he didn't receive the same reaction. He led Nora away from the scene.

Swallowing her pain, Miranda walked towards Terfel's fallen sword. After wiping and concealing her own blade, she picked up Terfel's and then headed over to where Kiernan was observing his colleagues load Terfel into a body bag.

"Here, Kiernan," she said softly, handing him the blade. She knew it would end up in the Watcher archives.

"Thanks, Mao-Lin," he said, taking the blade from her. The other Watchers eyed them curiously, the familiar interaction being a highly discouraged behaviour. "I'm sorry… about Nora."

"It was inevitable. I would have lost her sooner or later."

"Then I'm sorry it was sooner," he said, laying a comforting hand on her arm.

"So am I..."


	23. Chapter 23

Ianto was moving around the Hub going about his evening routine. It was Thursday and he'd let Myfanwy out for her weekly night of exercise. She would return on her own in the morning. He'd fed Janet and the other resident Weevils. He had set the rift alert to go to Jack's wrist strap and was now busy powering down the Hub, putting it into night mode.

"Yan? Where's Will?" Jack asked his lover as he crossed the main Hub walkway.

"Taking a leaf out of your book," Ianto said jerking his head upwards. "She's on the roof."

"Will's on the roof?" Jack repeated incredulously as he moved towards the stairs to head after her.

"Jack, leave her be," Ianto said, putting a restraining hand on his lover to stop him.

"She hates heights," Jack said, turning his gaze upwards to the Hub's ceiling high above them.

"She wants to be alone for a bit," Ianto said with a sigh. "She loved her very much."

A strange look came over Jack's face. "Enough to leave her…"

Ianto gave Jack a stern look. He could see where his lover was going with this. He said angrily, "Don't start, Jack."

"What?"

"That. Going all maudlin and broody about how I'd be better off away from Torchwood and away from you."

"Did I say anything?" Jack said a little defensively.

"No, you didn't, but I know that look on your face. We've had this discussion," Ianto said sternly and then waved his hand around the Hub. "Being here is my choice."

"Yan-"

"NO, JACK!" Ianto shouted feeling his temper rise. "You and Mandy both need to stop treating me and every other mortal you meet like we're lost children. I want to be here. At Torchwood. With you."

"Even if it means you'll die?"

"I'll die anyway, Jack," Ianto said defiantly, "with or without Torchwood."

Jack flinched at the words.

Ianto cupped Jack's face in his hands. "I'm sorry, but it's true. We both know it. I know we ignore it. We don't talk about it. But it's going to happen, Jack."

Jack clutched at Ianto's face with his own hands, pulling his lover's forehead against his own. "Not yet."

"Not yet," Ianto echoed.

"I love you," Jack replied, his voice shaky.

"I love you too."

The two men stood there in the middle of the Hub, their foreheads touching, their arms wrapped around each other for some time. It was Ianto who broke the embrace, taking a step backward.

"She's been up there long enough. Go to her," Ianto said to him with a knowing glance.

"Yan-"

"She shouldn't be alone tonight, Jack," Ianto said firmly.

Jack didn't miss what his lover was implying. When Miranda had joined Torchwood, the two men had had a long discussion about whether or not to extend her an invitation to their bed. They had both agreed they would enjoy bringing her into their bed, together or separately, but they had decided against it. The subject had been closed and this was the first time in three years it had been brought up again.

Jack furrowed his brow in confusion. "We agreed-"

"I know what we agreed. Things are different, now."

"How?"

Ianto sighed. "I love her, Jack. She's my friend and I love her."

Jack nodded and said, "She'll think she's coming between us."

"I know."

"She's going to say no," Jack said, furrowing his brow. "It'll offend her sense of personal honour."

"Maybe but it doesn't change the fact that she shouldn't be alone tonight." Ianto turned his gaze upwards. "She's spent too much of her life alone."


	24. Chapter 24

Miranda let the wind ruffle her hair as she gazed out over Cardiff from the roof of the Millennium Centre. She had called Nora after the incident with Terfel and Nora had asked her for space. Long weeks had gone by before she'd heard from Nora this morning. She'd just returned from the coffee shop where to two had met for the last time. Miranda had told Nora she wouldn't leave until Nora asked her to and Nora had asked. The other woman had brought several items of hers that Miranda had left at her flat. Nora had tried to return the bracelet Miranda had given her but Miranda refused to accept the gift's return.

She rarely told her mortal lovers what she was and on the extremely rare occasion she did, this was how things ended. The reasons varied, but the outcome was always the same. It was why, time and again, Miranda kept her confidences and left of her own volition before explanations became necessary. She had hoped that Gwen would be right, that this would be the first time but it wasn't. She would continue to watch over the mortal woman, of course, gently easing her life as best she could and not just because of the promise she had made to Nora's father. She would also continue to watch over any of Nora's descendants, if she had any, as she had done with others she had loved and lost.

The moment she'd returned to the Hub, she had sought out the solitude of the roof. She wanted to see why Jack did this so much. Immortal or not, Miranda had a great fear of heights. Now she stood on the edge of the building, staring out over the city. She closed her eyes against the wind and the loneliness gripping her heart. With a deep breath, she chastised herself for her foolishness. Normal never worked out for her, no matter how many times she tried at it. _And it never will… _

Images and sounds percolated up through Miranda's memory. She heard Nora's laugh and saw her smile. On the breeze, she swore she could hear the sound of the other woman's gasp or a low moan as Miranda remember the taste of Nora's skin. She looked over the ledge, wondering if Jack had ever fallen or jumped. It would be so simple… just to close your eyes and fall…

She heard the access door slam shut and heard booted feet coming towards her, an exotic scent on the night air. _Jack… _

"I can see why you like it up here, Jack. It's peaceful," she said without turning around. She could feel the warmth of him behind her.

"I'm sorry about Nora," Jack said, as he took hold of her hand.

"Don't be. It would have ended one way or the other."

"You love her."

"I do. But I've lived long enough to know that despite what the Beatles said, you need more than love."

"So you walked away?"

"I told her I wouldn't unless she asked. She asked," Miranda said.

"You could have fought for her."

He was parroting her own advice back at her. She had told him to not shut away his heart, to allow himself to love and to be loved, and that love was always worth fighting for. But she knew that she had done what was right for Nora and for herself. "What happens when she wants children? What happens when she's getting older and starts to resent staring at eternal youth?"

"Ianto-"

"Ianto is different. He understands more than most." Miranda slipped her hands into her coat pockets, still not turning around. "It wasn't the only reason, Jack. What happens when someone else comes for me? Tries to use her against me? Another Adaf Terfel? No, this is the best way. It was what she wanted."

"And what about what you want?" he asked.

She heaved out another sigh, gazing across the city and said, "Sometimes it's better for me to be alone."

"You don't have to be alone tonight, Will," he said, sliding his arms around her. He dipped his head and pressed a gentle kiss behind her ear.

She didn't miss the unspoken invitation. She didn't pull away from the embrace but she couldn't stop the smile that broke out across her face. _Sex… The Jack Harkness fix for everything… _"No, thank you, Jack. I'll be fine."

"You're not fine, Will. It won't be true no matter how many times you say it," he said and then kissed her neck again.

"Despite what you might think, Jack, sex doesn't solve everything," she said with a wry chuckle.

"No, but it helps," he said, laughing, his breath warm on her skin. He brought his hand up to move the collar of her coat out of the way and sucked on the crook of her neck.

She shivered and leaned into the embrace a little, finding a small amount of comfort in the familiarity. It was with a small sigh that she pulled away from him and started for the access door.

"Is that a yes?" he asked a cheerful eagerness.

Laughing again, she said without turning around, "No, it isn't. I'll see you tomorrow, Jack."

"Will-"

"Go to Ianto, Jack," she interrupted and half turned towards him, her tone serious and level. "Clasp him to you. Tell him how much you love him and then show him. Don't you dare take him for granted. I've not known the likes of what you two share in five hundred years. Cherish it. Cherish him."

Before he could answer, Miranda walked through the access door and descended down through the Millennium Centre and into the recesses of the Hub. It was dark and in night mode. Her head down, she descended the north stairs and turned the corner towards her rooms. She wasn't surprised to see Ianto leaning against the door waiting for her and she wouldn't be surprised if his comm unit was in the pocket he'd just hastily removed his hand from.

"Ifan, are you here to see if I'm fine as well?" she snapped a little.

"You're not fine, Mandy. I wanted to see if you wanted some company tonight," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You've been with Jack too long," she said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Then not for sex, Mandy," he said softly. "I don't think you should be alone."

"I will be fine by myself."

As she reached for the doorknob to her rooms, she repeated what she'd said to Jack on the roof. "Go to Jack, Ifan. Tell him you love him and then show him."

Ianto closed his hand over hers, hooking his finger under her chin. He gently turned her face towards him. His eyes were soft and his voice gentle. "Jack doesn't need me. Right now, you do."

He bent his head down and kissed her, his lips soft and warm. The kiss was gentle but deep. He abruptly broke the kiss, trailing his lips down her jaw and then her neck and then down to her shoulder. She knew exactly where he was headed, a hotspot near the crook of her neck. _Jack's been telling tales…_ When his mouth latched onto her shoulder, her head fell back against the door with a soft thud and for a moment, she allowed the distraction.

She knew what they were both trying to do, but they were both so young. Miranda had lived and lost enough to know that spending the night with one or both of them would chase away the loneliness and would fill the hole in her heart but it would only be temporary. The night would be memorable but when tomorrow came and the next day and the next, she would still be alone and it would hurt all the more for the delay.

She was vaguely aware of him blindly groping for the doorknob to her rooms. When she heard the sound of his hand gripping hold of the knob, she dug deep and summoned her will power. She reached back and closed her hand over his to stop him from opening the door. He removed his mouth from her shoulder and gave her a quizzical look._ By the Gods, I must be completely mental_… she thought as she saw his lust darkened eyes.

"I know what you and Jack are trying to do, Ifan, and please don't think I'm unappreciative of the gesture. I love you both all the more for it but I don't need to smother my heartache in you or Jack. What I need is time," she said softly.

Ianto nodded and straightened himself up. He took a small step backwards, curling her hand to his chest.

Miranda smiled softly and said to him, "You're wrong about one thing. Jack needs you. You see people, Ifan. You see them for who they are and accept them without ever expecting or wanting change. And that is a rare thing. It's so rare that I have never seen it nor known it in all my life until I met you. So go to him and lose yourselves in each other."

She kissed his cheek gently and then slipped into the dark solitude of her rooms.


	25. Chapter 25 (epilogue)

"We'll be back tomorrow, Mam. You try and get some rest and you'll be home soon," said the dark haired woman. She bent over the hospital bed railing, kissing her mother on the forehead.

The elderly woman nodded. "Don't forget my hairbrush again. I must look a fright."

"Beautiful as ever, Mam," the woman said, smiling brightly at her mother. "Got to run, Carys has piano in an hour."

"Come here, dear, kiss your Gran…" the elderly woman said softly as the young girl was lifted up by her mother. "I love you. I'll see you tomorrow."

The elderly woman waved at her daughter and granddaughter, smiling brightly as they left. The minute they were out of sight, she slumped back onto the pillows of the uncomfortable hospital bed. She closed her eyes against the pain wracking her joints and her muscles and the rest of her failing body but most of all against the pain in her heart. She loved her daughter and granddaughter but, and not without a small stab of guilt, she dearly hoped that this would be the last visit and the last time she would see them. Soon, she hoped, there would be an end to the agony. She would move on into the most vast of undiscovered countries, joining the beloved wife she had buried more than half a dozen years ago. _Lily…_ she thought with a longing, trying to project her soul towards the long dead woman.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes so she could stare out of the window, but saw a visitor in her doorway instead. Lithe and beautiful, Miranda Ryan stood framed in the door, a vase of daisies in her hands.

"Miranda…" Nora breathed.

"Hello Nora," Miranda said with a small smile.

"Come to watch an old woman die?" Nora spat, resentful at the immortal woman. Here Nora was, staring down death's door and Miranda hadn't changed in over fifty years.

Miranda stepped into the room, putting the daisies on the bedside table. "I'm here to visit someone I love in hospital."

Nora wanted to stay angry, wanted to let it fester for the length of this unsolicited visit. She wanted Miranda to leave and let her die in peace. She didn't want to die gazing at eternal youth and beauty. But it all evaporated when she saw the look on Miranda's face. It was a look of love tinged with grief and loss. She'd seen that look before, on her own face when Lily had died. Nora realised the grief in Miranda's eyes wasn't just for her life, but for the life the two of them never had together or could have had - the life that had walked out of Nora's hospital room not five minutes ago.

"May I?" Miranda asked shyly, holding up a comb she'd taken from her purse.

Nora smiled at her weakly and nodded. Miranda didn't bother with any of the usual lip service or small talk. She just combed Nora's hair, gently massaging her scalp as she went. She didn't tell Nora that she looked well or that the years had been kind to her. She didn't tell Nora that she'd get well soon and be out of hospital in no time. She didn't say any of the things visitors said to the sick and dying, the things Nora had always felt were more to make the visitor feel better rather than the patient. Nora smiled softly feeling content and peaceful. This was exactly what she'd needed.

Miranda put the comb away in her purse and then sat down on the edge of Nora's bed. She took Nora's hand in hers, stroking it with the back of her fingers. _I love you…_ Nora felt the unspoken words. A wave of fatigue washed over her and she felt her head droop.

"I'm sorry, I'm feeling a bit tired," Nora blinked her eyes a few times, trying to fight the exhaustion.

Miranda brought Nora's hand to her lips, kissing the thin and wrinkled skin gently. She smiled at Nora warmly. "Why don't you rest? I'll stay with you."

"Maybe a short nap, will you be here when I wake up?" Nora asked.

Miranda's smile widened. "If you'd like."

Nora nodded weakly and smiled, settling back against the pillows, letting her eyes slide closed. When she woke up, she'd ask Miranda to visit again.

As Nora's breathing evened out and slowed, Miranda lifted her hand up, curling it against her chest to cradle it against her own heart. She held it gently, stroking Nora's forearm gently as the breaths of the woman she loved become less frequent and more shallow and finally, stopped all together. After a few moments, the pulse beneath Miranda's fingertips had stopped and she stood up. She tenderly laid Nora's arm across the still chest. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she pressed her own lips to Nora's briefly and then walked from the room, her head bowed, without a backward glance.


End file.
